More states are embracing microcredentials as a way to bolster teachers’ professional development.
But while more of them have taken up microcredentials—self-paced and usually hands-on learning that focuses on discrete skills—in some capacity, how they’ve done so varies greatly, according to a report from the think tank New America. Some allow educators to pursue microcredentials as a way to satisfy requirements for an initial or first-time professional educator license or certification while others use them to bolster teacher professional development opportunities. Some states have policies allowing the use of microcredentials in more than one area, though few allow them for more than two different purposes.
Nineteen states’ policies don’t explicitly allow or incentivize microcredentials in any capacity.
With microcredentials, teachers choose a skill they want to develop—often, a focused skill, like employing “wait time” after asking students a discussion question. Then, they work on it at their own pace before supplying evidence—classroom videos, student work examples, and written reflections—to show they’ve mastered it.
An outside evaluator reviews the evidence, provides feedback, and awards the microcredential if the teacher has met the criteria. If not, the teacher can keep working on it, resubmit the evidence, and earn the credential, which typically comes in the form of a digital badge.
Microcredentials are available through a handful of online platforms, usually for a fee of about $40.
High-quality microcredentials incorporate a number of elements researchers have agreed are often missing from traditional professional development. They are generally focused directly on classroom practice rather than general content and principles, and teachers typically have to apply what they learn to earn the badge. The learning isn’t confined to a one-time, one-size-fits-all workshop that might be relevant to some teachers and not others.
But there’s still limited research into microcredentials’ effects on student learning. And because of the number of organizations offering them, there’s no central quality control. In addition, there’s a lot of variation in whether teachers receive coaching as they pursue the credentials, according to a New America report from 2021.
Ten states incorporate microcredentials in policies related to obtaining a first-time teaching license or certification.
Even within those policies there is much variation in the extent to which states emphasize microcredentials as an option.
For example, Missouri is the only state with a statewide policy for initial credentialing of administrators using microcredentials. Alabama, Arkansas, and Delaware allow teachers with a temporary certification, in some situations, to earn microcredentials instead of passing a multiple-choice exam for official certification. Meanwhile, Rhode Island’s and Utah’s policies simply mention microcredentials as an option for educators, rather than explicitly encouraging their use.
It’s more common for teachers to be able to apply microcredentials to their license renewals: 15 states allow educators to use microcredentials for that purpose.
Thirteen states are using microcredentials to supplement teachers’ professional development on topics that education leaders have determined are priorities—from literacy to teaching students with disabilities. Most of these states offer the microcredentials at no cost to educators, or offer a stipend to those who complete one, to encourage participation, the report said.
In the same vein, nine states and the District of Columbia allow teachers to earn at least some license endorsements via completing microcredential programs.
In three of those states—Alaska, Utah, and Wyoming—educators can earn any additional endorsement through microcredentials.
In the others—Arizona, the District of Columbia, Florida, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Vermont, and Virginia—microcredentials are only allowed to be used for specific endorsements, typically in teacher-shortage areas like reading specialists, computer science, and special education.
