Certification & Licensing

Three hands, each holding a certificate against a caution (yellow and black) striped background.
Collage by Gina Tomko/Education Week and Getty
Recruitment & Retention Emergency Certified Teachers: Are They a Viable Solution to Shortages?
Emergency teachers are in bigger demand than ever. Can states and districts make smarter use of them?
Elizabeth Heubeck, June 29, 2022
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6 min read
Image of staffing shortages.
wildpixel/iStock/Getty
Teacher Preparation States Relax Teacher Certification Rules to Combat Shortages
Faced with an uneven supply of teaching talent, states are lowering the bar on some licensing hoops.
Madeline Will, June 28, 2022
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5 min read
In this photo taken Sept. 1, 2011, Michael Darmas "high fives" a student at Holmes Elementary School in Miami. In a distressed neighborhood north of Miami's gleaming downtown, a group of enthusiastic but inexperienced instructors from Teach for America is trying to make progress where more veteran teachers have had difficulty: raising students' reading and math scores.
Michael Darmas, a Teach For America instructor, gives his student a high five in this 2011 photo taken at Holmes Elementary School in Miami.
J Pat Carter/AP
Teacher Preparation Alternative Certification Programs Are Booming. But Candidates Aren't Finishing
These non-university-based programs enroll more teachers of color and tend to be cheaper, but quality control remains a concern.
Madeline Will, June 7, 2022
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7 min read
As her pupils bend themselves to their books, teacher Marie Donnelly guides them along in their studies at P.S. 77 in the Glendale section of Queens, New York, Sept. 28, 1959. In her 40 years of teaching, never has Donnelly had so many African-American students in a class. The youngsters were bused to the school from Bedford-Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn, a predominantly black neighborhood where schools are overcrowded. P.S. 77, which had an enrollment of 368 all-white students, can handle 1000 children comfortably. Parents in the Queens neighborhoods objected to influx, but the children themselves adjusted to one another without incident.
A white teacher teaches a newly integrated class at P.S. 77 in the Glendale section of Queens, N.Y., in September 1959.
AP
Teaching Profession Q&A 'Brown v. Board' Decimated the Black Educator Pipeline. A Scholar Explains How
A new book digs into a lesser-known and negative consequence of one of the nation's most significant civil rights milestones.
Madeline Will, May 16, 2022
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9 min read
Reading & Literacy Spotlight Spotlight on the Science of Reading in 2022
This Spotlight will help you understand new state laws on evidence-based instruction, the difficulties of teaching reading, and more.
March 9, 2022
Freda Arnold chats with some of her students at Booker Junior High school in Little Rock, Ark., on Dec. 21, 1965. Arnold is one of four white educators on the faculty of the all-Black school.
Freda Arnold chats with some of her students at Booker Junior High school in Little Rock, Ark., on Dec. 21, 1965. Arnold is one of four white educators on the faculty of the all-Black school.
AP
Recruitment & Retention 4 Changes Schools Can Make to Recruit Teachers of Color and Keep Them Around
America’s K-12 teaching force today remains predominantly white in stark contrast to its rapidly diversifying student body.
Eesha Pendharkar, December 7, 2021
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5 min read
Illustration of a female carrying moving boxes.
iStock/Getty Images Plus
Career Advice Relocating for a Teaching Job: What to Know Before You Take the Gig
Double check the cost of living, assess the cultural fit, review teacher licensing rules, and see how you can become part of the community.

Elizabeth Heubeck, July 21, 2021
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5 min read
teacher 1276371740 stylized
Drazen Zigic/iStock/Getty
Teacher Preparation First-Time Pass Rates on Teacher Licensure Exams Were Secret Until Now. See the Data
The National Council on Teacher Quality published first-time pass rate data on teacher licensing tests, which had been hidden for years.
Madeline Will, July 21, 2021
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8 min read
Image shows two children ages 5 to 7 years old and a teacher, an African-American woman, holding a digital tablet up, showing it to the girl sitting next to her. They are all wearing masks, back to school during the COVID-19 pandemic, trying to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
E+/Getty
Reading & Literacy Most States Fail to Measure Teachers' Knowledge of the 'Science of Reading,' Report Says
The majority of states don’t evaluate whether prospective teachers know how to teach reading effectively, a new analysis finds.
Sarah Schwartz, March 23, 2021
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6 min read
Teacher Preparation Georgia Eliminates the edTPA Requirement for Teacher Candidates
"It has become clear over time that [the edTPA] caused unintended barriers and burdens for teachers entering the profession," Georgia's state superintendent said.
Madeline Will, June 12, 2020
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6 min read
Teaching Profession Teacher-Candidates Will Be Able to Take the Praxis Certification Test at Home
States and testing vendors are trying to find solutions for teacher-candidates to get certified in order to prevent a disruption to the teacher pipeline.
Madeline Will, April 15, 2020
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3 min read
Teacher Preparation Teachers in These States Have to Pass a Rigorous Test on 'Science of Reading'
Only 19 states require aspiring teachers to pass a test that shows they've mastered research-based methods for teaching children to read.
Catherine Gewertz, March 3, 2020
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3 min read
Curriculum Tennessee Seeks New Teacher, Principal Requirements in 'Science of Reading'
The Tennessee department of education is proposing unsually comprehensive legislation that will require all current and new K-3 teachers, and those who train them, to know evidence-based reading instruction.
Catherine Gewertz, February 3, 2020
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5 min read
Teaching Profession What Should Teachers Need to Do to Transfer Their License to a New State?
Just 16 states require incoming teachers to provide evidence of successful prior job performance, a National Council on Teacher Quality analysis found.
Madeline Will, December 18, 2019
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4 min read
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