Recertification: It’s obscure. It’s ill-understood. It’s never studied. But most teachers have to meet these continuing education requirements every five years. This special report takes a hard look at recertification, posing questions about how it could be strengthened to support teachers better. The stories include an overview of the diverse provider landscape, perspective pieces by current and former teachers, and profiles of states thinking about how to innovate their license-renewal systems.

In Georgia, license renewal requires teacher learning to happen on the job and continuously. All teachers have to participate in regular meetings to plan, analyze data and student work, and give each other feedback.

Read the story.


What has been your best—and worst—recertification experience? Teachers take to Twitter to share both their license-renewal horror stories and successes.

See their stories.



How can teacher recertification better support educators' professional learning and growth? Educators will weigh in on what changes they would make to certificate renewal in a Teaching Ahead roundtable.

Read the roundtable.
Is Teacher Recertification Broken?
December 6, 2017 Advocates and state officials should think about how the neglected policies could be used as a lever to improve teacher quality, experts say.
Teacher Professional Development: Many Choices, Few Quality Checks
December 6, 2017 A diffuse—and mostly unregulated—set of providers has sprung up to meet teachers’ varying needs for renewal credits.
Even National Board Teachers Don't Get a Pass on License Renewal
December 6, 2017 Only about half of states allow the rigorous certification process to count toward the renewal of teacher licenses—a figure the National Board wishes to change.
Spotlight on the States
Wisconsin Killed License Renewal. So Why Are Teachers So Upset?
December 6, 2017 Wisconsin is one of five states that now gives lifetime licenses, but many teachers say the change could damage their profession.
Spotlight on the States
It's Not How Long You Spend in PD, It's How Much You Grow
December 6, 2017 Georgia is one of more than a dozen states where teachers looking to renew their licenses can ditch the one-off seminars and instead craft personalized plans for improving their instruction.
Interview
Inching Toward Relicensure, One 'Microcredential' at a Time
December 6, 2017 The bite-sized competencies are gaining ground as a PD tool. In Tennessee, they can also help teachers maintain their licenses.
First Person
Making a Case for 'Timely, Purposeful, Progressive' PD
December 6, 2017 When the professional development that teachers must take to renew their licenses is meaningful, teachers will stay in the profession and maintain a high level of job satisfaction, argues Brian Curtin, an Illinois English teacher.
First Person
Cutting a New Path on License Renewal for Teachers
December 6, 2017 License renewal requirements affect every teacher on a regular basis, educator and former policymaker Kim Walters-Parker writes. Why isn't the process meaningful?
First Person
How Licensing Rules Kept One Teacher of the Year Out of Public Schools
December 6, 2017 Megan Allen is an award-winning, National Board-certified teacher. But when she crossed state lines, her teaching license didn't follow.

This special report was produced with support from the Joyce Foundation.

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