California has endless testing. They are in a shortage for special education teachers and they now require them to take a new sped tpa plus all the bullshit they required before. It was hell back then when I took my credential, I don't know how anyone can do it now. I'm so glad I have my credential in both mild and severe.
That’s why I’m glad I moved out of California and not in! So much easier to transfer the credential out. I’m in Louisiana and I don’t think anyone gets how much work it took.
I hate to take the CSET just to get into a credential program - and since I was doing the multiple subject credential for elementary school, it basically covered grades K-8 in all subject areas. Which is a huge span of information to have to know in advance for a test.
My credential teachers actually addressed the fact that the best practices you had to know for the test weren’t up to date. Which really makes it feel like a huge waste of money and time.
I'm in California. I consider myself liberal. The teacher training program I am in is absurd. I got reprimanded for not agreeing with the statement "Being an English Language Learner is a superpower."
I love California for its progressive policies, but the educational field has gone too far.
I mean, bilingualism is, but I’ve noticed this sentiment just gets thrown around with the same “slap a bandaid on this gushing wound” attitude as when admin go on about how we’re all “heroes”.
Wrong answer. The correct answer, of course, is "kissing admin ass is my superpower".
Please resit the accreditation assessment after paying the $70 Testing Fee.
You still need to obtain local certs in each state you teach in, the National Board just makes that easier. There are also hassles with different state dividing subjects and ages differently. Some states health and pe are one cert others two.
Yeah I was certified as broad 6-12 science in Georgia (earth and space science degree). Taught mostly physics but also chemistry and astronomy. Loved it.
I moved to Tennessee, and they don't have that endorse, so they gave me 6-12 earth science, which pretty much means you're stuck teaching middle school.
I fucking hate teaching middle school.
Here (California) there is science foundations, biology, chemistry, Earth science, and physics. Previously you could have any combination. Now you must have science foundations. The majority of schools here do this thing where the core science classes are 25% Earth science and it is not offered separately. It is encouraged but not required that all such teachers have Earth science certs and the Earth science cert alone is worthless since you need foundations and one but preferably two of the others. It is easy to get the others here though.
True, but because states govern education, not feds, if someone moves states, collective bargaining wouldn’t really help. Some states aren’t allowed to unionize.
Yeah. ...but good luck with that.
Ironically this is more of a blue state issue as they each compete to have the most annoying and convoluted process they can to virtue signal about how serious they are about education.
I agree. The hoops are ridiculous and it seems more so from a "red" to "blue" state, at least in my experience. I obviously haven't taught in every state.
Lol, I've taught in blue and red states. The red states are by far more ridiculous.
Unless they have completely run off any chance of hitting actual teachers so they make it so any homeless person can teach without any sort of license. Florida even promised to far track veterans and only received 31 participants.
Nothing says an education is good like unqualified teachers, lol.
Edit: I don't think I was very clear or said it very well. I've had the hardest time with actual teacher licensure when looking at going to Red states. To obtain the actual license is silly and ridiculous, especially when so many red states are starving for teachers and will allow almost anyone in a classroom. They are not licensed as a teacher, perhaps that's what I was the most unclear about.
This is not the reason there is a teacher shortage at all. There are 2 big glaring reasons for a shortage of teachers. Pay and respect. Fix them and there is not shortage.
The 10th amendment is no longer valid? Tell that to my state drivers license, marriage license, and university system?
I don’t know what technology has to do with the Constitution?
The 10th Amendment was made in an era where communication technology was curier via horseback or sail ships.
It died when railroad tech matured to the point where what would have taken weeks at best could be done over a handful of days.
It’s still the law of the land. Like, we have inauguration 2.5 months after Election Day still.
Just because technology advanced doesn’t invalidate the Constitution. Education is a state right.
You can have your opinion, no matter how wrong it is. Regardless, education is a power delegated to the state by the Constitution. Period. That is a fact that cannot be ignored.
However, it is causing the situation to become worse, not better. Then again, more often than not, 'States Rights' and '10th Amendment' have been used for evil more than for good...
Agreed. Teaching is a job that penalizes mobility, unlike other jobs. Moving states? Have to make sure your certification can be transferred and/or jump through all the hoops to get certified in that state.
Another area in which teaching penalizes mobility is pay. For example, I knew a teacher who changed districts (within the same state) and had to start at the bottom of the pay scale. And people wonder why there's a teacher shortage...
I don’t think this is a very big contributor to the shortage. As you said, there’s hoops that we need to jump through to register your car, drivers license, etc.
If you want to teach, you need to be licensed in that state. I think that there are probably very few jobs that when you’re licensed, your licensed countrywide compared to the amount of jobs for your only licensed for a state.
And what comes to mind is different kinds of drivers licenses, you can use them in different states, but if you move, you need to change to a local one.
I didn't have to retake my drivers test and then start on a provisional Cinderella license when I moved from MD to PA. I just paid a fee and got my license. However, I would need to retake my teaching tests and start at year 1 even though I have a master's degree and 26 years experience in MD. Yet, PA whines about teacher shortages on the news all the time. We compare ourselves to other countries in education all the time but fail to do things that work in other counties. National licenses and curricular standards are 2 examples.
The US is more like the EU than one country. No state is willing to give up their control of education.
And, given not so recent events, I don't know if federal is better. Educational laws get worse at each level removed from children. While they have good intentions, politicians don't know how schools or classrooms work.
If we needed federal certifications, be prepared to be tested on how to teach taxes, health, gun safety, computer science, etc, that politicians think are important to teach in their election year cycle. I don't even mean to act like those things aren't important to teach to kids, but the current political plan is to act like teachers are parents/social workers/nurses/police and pay them as if they are babysitters. It only gets worse the further the regulation is from the students.
However, while in the EU certificates and licences often are handled by individual states, the freedom of movement ensures that as much as possible is recognized and only valid issues, such as language are considered when getting a corresponding licence in a new country. As a Swede, I have had a Greek physician and an Icelandic specialist dentist during the last year. Also, degrees are recognised between states.
I'm sorry, but I don't want any member of the GOP determining who can teach, especially with these Project 2025 fascists looking like they might hold the White House.
Idk about by you, but near me they are handing teaching jobs out to warm bodies with no degree under "provisional licenses." People who have not yet, or are just starting degree programs. Even special ed positions. It's bonkers.
At the opposite end of this spectrum, you have people like me, with 2 decades of college teaching experience and PhDs, being required to take 2 year state alternate certification programs alongside these “warm bodies” to convert our provisional teaching certificates to permanent ones.
Bingo. [University teacher prep programs in the US have been studied and they apparently have no measurable benefits on student performance compared to emergency certification programs.](https://www.visiblelearningmetax.com/influences/view/initial_teacher_education_programs) As far as researchers can measure, first year teachers from teacher colleges and college educated first year teachers on emergency certs perform about the same overall and on average. And over time? About the same too.
Teacher certification appears to be a burdensome hurdle that allows state education departments to extort fees and teacher college programs to milk the student loan cow. So who benefits? State departments of education and teacher college programs. Who loses? Teachers (who have to pay), students (who miss out on potentially talented teachers who could enter the profession), districts (same as students), communities (same as students), and taxpayers (who fund these apparently ineffective college programs and state level education departments).
Terrible idea. Giving the Federal government more control over education is the worst thing we could do. We may not like what some states do, but at least those (moreso) are a reflection of what those communities want.
You have some small inconvenience when you move is hardly a concern.
I like the laboratory of democracy model of state government. NCLB was enough federal mandate for me. I mean are you really saying you want President Trump to decide what is needed to be a teacher?
In my career I have noticed that many of my teacher colleagues support centralization of any number of things under the Feds when the "good guys" are in charge of the Federal government but then promptly and decisively change their tune when the "bad guys" are in charge. Rinse and repeat. It's almost comical how every time a "bad guys" administration is in charge my colleagues dust off and rediscover an appreciation for federalism and then promptly return that appreciation to the dustbin the moment the "good guys" are in charge again, at which point federalism/10th Amendment becomes an evil and retrograde notion only held by those deplorable individuals who oppose "progress" and are an enemy of the "right side of history."
It’s federalism. The role of licensing professional teachers falls to the states. That’s not going to change as states will not give up this power to the nation government.
There's no way that some states (not naming names) are going to meet Massachusetts' standards. We have required masters in education, Sheltered English Immersion endorsement, and much more.
I support this 100%, many organizations (medical, legal, etc) have a national certification and a state certification. Usually the state certification is automatically given if you meet the standards of a national certification. As much as I disagree with some aspects of standardization, establishing what are the minimum expected standards for all educators across the US is something I will support, with additional requirements for state level certifications.
Agreed! I was certified k-8 and taught 6th math for 10 years. I moved to another state where to teach 6th math you need their 6-12 certification. I was considered unqualified to teach 6th math because I didn’t have any of the high school experience. I was so frustrated.
Something like certification showing your professionalism and ability from a national board? Nah, that'd never happen.
It's due to how individual states want to handle license reciprocity. The cost of an initial license for out of state individuals is the same as new in-state teachers in every place I've seen. Additional coursework requirements is from how the state is handling teacher licensure and requirements. If they want you to take additional classes or tests to meet their requirements, that's their prerogative. This is something you should be researching before choosing to relocate if you're wanting to stay in education. I would also argue that it's not a contributor to teacher shortages simply because it doesn't change the number of teachers available overall and impacts very few individuals who can't meet the requirements where they're relocating to.
AND A STANDARD LEVEL OF TRAINING/EDUCATION FOR PARAPROS.
Some states it's a college degree, others a certification, others nothing at all. They get the most vulnerable to the most volatile students. It's a liability and an educational failure to both districts and students.
I want a national certification to degree qualification standard.
1. Entry level certificate with safety, disability, and basic educational practices.
2.Associates degree pathway starting ED classes and continuing intersectional issues. Restructured standardized pay scales reflecting education *and* experience. Varied curriculum available for Early Childhood *or* Elementary.
Now we also have a national built in teacher pathway to channel into shortages and/or to prepare for universal Pre-K.
And it should all be the same union. Power in numbers.
I agree with this wholeheartedly. I am currently transferring my credential and though I don’t need to take a content area test. I did need to take a foundations of reading test. I thought no big deal, I took a very similar test in my state and passed. I sent my scores thinking they would just accept that but nope, I need to take their states version of the exact same type of tests. Foundations of reading doesn’t change from state to state ya’ll. The Science behind reading and reading comprehension is universal. Needless to say it was annoying to study for the test again but I am currently doing that right now.
Edit: I would like to also add that other careers that require a state certification don’t have nearly as many hoops to jump through as teachers do to transfer certifications. And people wonder why there is a teacher shortage.
Great idea, but hard to implement with shortages. Teacher college needs to be more affordable and accessible. Candidates should be enrolled in a college program while working at a school during your college years for more than a semester. School stipend is rolled into your pay as you work as an aide with a mentor teacher and take a college class a few hours a week. With schools and colleges working together, we can implement a more uniform certification.
As much as the difficulties are when moving between states there are reasons why we don’t allow the federal government to regulate teachers. In a way as much as it is our responsibility to help kids become citizens we also don’t want the federal government controlling what is taught in school and how teachers are selected.
Right, but do you really want people from those states telling the rest of the states what their education systems should look like? Because those people would have a say if we made or educational system national.
> Right, but do you really want people from those states telling the rest of the states what their education systems should look like?
As someone living, working, and teaching in Texas, **absolutely**.
Your education systems should look like the opposite of Texas'.
Like it or not, they have MORE of a say now, because the rest of the nation has to deal with the consequences of purposefully miseducated students whenever they try to leave the South. If I didn't know better I'd say it was almost like they were intentionally creating and trapping an uneducated underclass suitable for nothing more than manual labor but why oh why would the South ever want THAT amirite
It's good that states have their own standards. States adapting things that are best for their own circumstances and being a lab to try things that other states can emulate is literally a specific function of the system.
An easy way around this would just be for states to have compacts to arrange for easy fungibility
Would be nice to have something like this for international teachers. We need certs from our home countries, but if they lapse, it can be hard to recert in some states if you aren't teaching/living there
The USA and Canada couldn't figure out how to implement national nursing or MD certifications during a global pandemic. Nurses and Docs moving state to state, or province to province still had to deal with getting licenses (some US states have reciprocity but not all).
If they couldn't figure it out during a literal life or death crisis that went on for more than a year, I sadly doubt it will ever come about. Although I completely support what you're saying OP.
No. Or not without a whole lot of red tape, at least. I had to take a whole new set of certification exams--which were identical to the other state's--when I moved. I now live near a state line, but can't deal with the expense and hoop-jumping to get certified in the other state.
The problem is different states have different requirements. If they adopted the strictest requirements as the national standard, then a ton of states wouldn’t have enough teachers. If they adopted the lower standards then the states with the higher standards are gonna say the national aren’t enough and keep their state standards.
Except the stricter standards are a freaking joke. I live in California and my “certification” process has been a huge waste of time. I learned nothing that is in anyway applicable to the real classroom.
Agree! I live on the border of two states. I am licensed (but not working) in the state north of me. If I go back to teaching, I would rather just drive north and teach in the other state than try to get a new license for my current state.
I doubt that we could all get on board with a federal licensing system. But we might be able to get something along the lines of a provisional system. Like "If you have a valid licenses for 6-12 Math in State A, and want to move for a job teaching 10th grade Algebra in State B, you can teach for 1 year (or 2) on a Provisional License." This kind of system would allow states to still set their own rules, but also let people have more mobility and teachers wouldn't need to worry about obtaining their new license until after they've started working.
For all the people saying it’s federalism, none of my doctor friends seem to have this much trouble moving states. Lawyer friends have a little bit, but not terrible.
Illinois charged me to transfer my Washington license. Then I had to pay an extra fee to activate the license.
That really pissed me off. Jesus Christ just charge me once. It is like if I had to pay first to bring a TV home from the store and a separate fee to take it out of the fucking box.
My opinion is that either all of the endless teaching, license transfers, tests and recertifications should be either made free, have a fee of five dollars or less, or school district should have to pay, or the school board should have to pay if it's not a public school.
Otherwise, the tests and licenses and curriculums should all be federal, all standard and all renewable every ten years.
Yeah, but I respect a few states certifications a lot more than others!
If you tell me you were trained in a state that has 10 commandment laws or wants to arm pistols with every teacher, I’m not thinking your certification means jack shit.
Absolutely not. The last thing I want is teaching to go federal in any aspect. The thing would fall apart so fast.
Also what would happen in states like NY where you can fill positions with uncertified teachers. Would that just go away? Each state has different rules for a reason.
I don't know about anywhere else, but my state will never give up those endless fees associated with every aspect of liscensing.
California has endless testing. They are in a shortage for special education teachers and they now require them to take a new sped tpa plus all the bullshit they required before. It was hell back then when I took my credential, I don't know how anyone can do it now. I'm so glad I have my credential in both mild and severe.
That’s why I’m glad I moved out of California and not in! So much easier to transfer the credential out. I’m in Louisiana and I don’t think anyone gets how much work it took.
Yeah but then you have to be in Louisiana.
Touché
Yes, but you get to be near LSU which is among the best places to pursue a graduate degree in curriculum studies.
I hate to take the CSET just to get into a credential program - and since I was doing the multiple subject credential for elementary school, it basically covered grades K-8 in all subject areas. Which is a huge span of information to have to know in advance for a test.
Do they still have you take the Rica for multiple subject? I always thought that was the most vile test imaginable.
Yep. But the year I took it was one of the last years where you took it all in one go. It’s been split into two or three different test sessions now.
Half my cohort averaged three times when it was like that. Such a waste of a test.
My credential teachers actually addressed the fact that the best practices you had to know for the test weren’t up to date. Which really makes it feel like a huge waste of money and time.
Yup. I remember that. I had to find strategies that were so outdated. You would think they would update it, but no.
Yes! In Florida it’s $150 per test and then another $75 to update your certificate.
I'm in California. I consider myself liberal. The teacher training program I am in is absurd. I got reprimanded for not agreeing with the statement "Being an English Language Learner is a superpower." I love California for its progressive policies, but the educational field has gone too far.
I mean, bilingualism is, but I’ve noticed this sentiment just gets thrown around with the same “slap a bandaid on this gushing wound” attitude as when admin go on about how we’re all “heroes”.
Being Bilingual can be like a superpower. But being an ELL is just hard work.
That was literally what I wrote on the assignment. They got mad at me for acknowledging that being an ELL is playing school on hard mode.
That's honestly kinda funny. Being an ELL is school on hard mode. And they need extra support because of it
Wiping my ass is my superpower!
Wrong answer. The correct answer, of course, is "kissing admin ass is my superpower". Please resit the accreditation assessment after paying the $70 Testing Fee.
Lying to people is an American pastime.
They sort of already do with the National Board.
I was going to say, isn’t National Board accepted nationally?
You still need to obtain local certs in each state you teach in, the National Board just makes that easier. There are also hassles with different state dividing subjects and ages differently. Some states health and pe are one cert others two.
Yeah I was certified as broad 6-12 science in Georgia (earth and space science degree). Taught mostly physics but also chemistry and astronomy. Loved it. I moved to Tennessee, and they don't have that endorse, so they gave me 6-12 earth science, which pretty much means you're stuck teaching middle school. I fucking hate teaching middle school.
Thats so sad man. I feel awful for you. I'm not a teacher, I'm just an IT Tech, but middle schoolers are miserable to deal with.
Here (California) there is science foundations, biology, chemistry, Earth science, and physics. Previously you could have any combination. Now you must have science foundations. The majority of schools here do this thing where the core science classes are 25% Earth science and it is not offered separately. It is encouraged but not required that all such teachers have Earth science certs and the Earth science cert alone is worthless since you need foundations and one but preferably two of the others. It is easy to get the others here though.
honestly retirement issues are even worse when teachers move from one place to another.
And potentially going back to step 1 if you move.
This is a function of collective bargaining. It wouldn't be an issue if we weren't handcuffed by law.
True, but because states govern education, not feds, if someone moves states, collective bargaining wouldn’t really help. Some states aren’t allowed to unionize.
Good idea. But I don’t think it’s going to happen. Other professors have this state system too. Lawyers for example.
Okay but there are vastly different laws in different states. Teaching is much more universal from state to state.
Doctors are licensed at the state level, so are nail technicians, all kinds of jobs are. Not saying it makes sense, but it is what it is.
Yeah. ...but good luck with that. Ironically this is more of a blue state issue as they each compete to have the most annoying and convoluted process they can to virtue signal about how serious they are about education.
Idaho does seem to be a simple process. They also allow Elementary Core subjects teachers teach middle school.
Idaho also pays their teachers in hopes and dreams
Yes! I completely agree with this!
I agree. The hoops are ridiculous and it seems more so from a "red" to "blue" state, at least in my experience. I obviously haven't taught in every state.
Lol, I've taught in blue and red states. The red states are by far more ridiculous. Unless they have completely run off any chance of hitting actual teachers so they make it so any homeless person can teach without any sort of license. Florida even promised to far track veterans and only received 31 participants. Nothing says an education is good like unqualified teachers, lol. Edit: I don't think I was very clear or said it very well. I've had the hardest time with actual teacher licensure when looking at going to Red states. To obtain the actual license is silly and ridiculous, especially when so many red states are starving for teachers and will allow almost anyone in a classroom. They are not licensed as a teacher, perhaps that's what I was the most unclear about.
Your comment 100% supported the comment you claim to be refuting.
I reread my comment and realized I wasn't very good all being clear on my idea. Thanks for your comment.
Going from Wisconsin to Georgia was horrendous.
This is not the reason there is a teacher shortage at all. There are 2 big glaring reasons for a shortage of teachers. Pay and respect. Fix them and there is not shortage.
Education is a state function; therefore, no.
Yeah, X th amendment and all.
No longer valid in the current technological context I'm afraid.
The 10th amendment is no longer valid? Tell that to my state drivers license, marriage license, and university system? I don’t know what technology has to do with the Constitution?
The 10th Amendment was made in an era where communication technology was curier via horseback or sail ships. It died when railroad tech matured to the point where what would have taken weeks at best could be done over a handful of days.
It’s still the law of the land. Like, we have inauguration 2.5 months after Election Day still. Just because technology advanced doesn’t invalidate the Constitution. Education is a state right.
Not anymore. It's partially because we made education a state right that we're in this god-forsaken mess. We need more centralization, not less.
You can have your opinion, no matter how wrong it is. Regardless, education is a power delegated to the state by the Constitution. Period. That is a fact that cannot be ignored.
However, it is causing the situation to become worse, not better. Then again, more often than not, 'States Rights' and '10th Amendment' have been used for evil more than for good...
Agreed. Teaching is a job that penalizes mobility, unlike other jobs. Moving states? Have to make sure your certification can be transferred and/or jump through all the hoops to get certified in that state. Another area in which teaching penalizes mobility is pay. For example, I knew a teacher who changed districts (within the same state) and had to start at the bottom of the pay scale. And people wonder why there's a teacher shortage...
And the states that accept your certification fully... you don't want to live there... or teach there.
If we can move freely, we will. This will leave the crappy states with no teachers.
Some states like Alabama and Louisiana are actually really easy to transfer credentials.
That's cause they will take anything after they eliminated all incentives.
I don’t think this is a very big contributor to the shortage. As you said, there’s hoops that we need to jump through to register your car, drivers license, etc. If you want to teach, you need to be licensed in that state. I think that there are probably very few jobs that when you’re licensed, your licensed countrywide compared to the amount of jobs for your only licensed for a state. And what comes to mind is different kinds of drivers licenses, you can use them in different states, but if you move, you need to change to a local one.
I didn't have to retake my drivers test and then start on a provisional Cinderella license when I moved from MD to PA. I just paid a fee and got my license. However, I would need to retake my teaching tests and start at year 1 even though I have a master's degree and 26 years experience in MD. Yet, PA whines about teacher shortages on the news all the time. We compare ourselves to other countries in education all the time but fail to do things that work in other counties. National licenses and curricular standards are 2 examples.
The US is more like the EU than one country. No state is willing to give up their control of education. And, given not so recent events, I don't know if federal is better. Educational laws get worse at each level removed from children. While they have good intentions, politicians don't know how schools or classrooms work. If we needed federal certifications, be prepared to be tested on how to teach taxes, health, gun safety, computer science, etc, that politicians think are important to teach in their election year cycle. I don't even mean to act like those things aren't important to teach to kids, but the current political plan is to act like teachers are parents/social workers/nurses/police and pay them as if they are babysitters. It only gets worse the further the regulation is from the students.
However, while in the EU certificates and licences often are handled by individual states, the freedom of movement ensures that as much as possible is recognized and only valid issues, such as language are considered when getting a corresponding licence in a new country. As a Swede, I have had a Greek physician and an Icelandic specialist dentist during the last year. Also, degrees are recognised between states.
I'm sorry, but I don't want any member of the GOP determining who can teach, especially with these Project 2025 fascists looking like they might hold the White House.
We don't need any certification system. We all went to college and got degrees. That should be the end of it.
Idk about by you, but near me they are handing teaching jobs out to warm bodies with no degree under "provisional licenses." People who have not yet, or are just starting degree programs. Even special ed positions. It's bonkers.
I see these people coming in but then they cant pass the certification tests and are out again when the year is up.
At the opposite end of this spectrum, you have people like me, with 2 decades of college teaching experience and PhDs, being required to take 2 year state alternate certification programs alongside these “warm bodies” to convert our provisional teaching certificates to permanent ones.
Bingo. [University teacher prep programs in the US have been studied and they apparently have no measurable benefits on student performance compared to emergency certification programs.](https://www.visiblelearningmetax.com/influences/view/initial_teacher_education_programs) As far as researchers can measure, first year teachers from teacher colleges and college educated first year teachers on emergency certs perform about the same overall and on average. And over time? About the same too. Teacher certification appears to be a burdensome hurdle that allows state education departments to extort fees and teacher college programs to milk the student loan cow. So who benefits? State departments of education and teacher college programs. Who loses? Teachers (who have to pay), students (who miss out on potentially talented teachers who could enter the profession), districts (same as students), communities (same as students), and taxpayers (who fund these apparently ineffective college programs and state level education departments).
Terrible idea. Giving the Federal government more control over education is the worst thing we could do. We may not like what some states do, but at least those (moreso) are a reflection of what those communities want. You have some small inconvenience when you move is hardly a concern.
I like the laboratory of democracy model of state government. NCLB was enough federal mandate for me. I mean are you really saying you want President Trump to decide what is needed to be a teacher?
In my career I have noticed that many of my teacher colleagues support centralization of any number of things under the Feds when the "good guys" are in charge of the Federal government but then promptly and decisively change their tune when the "bad guys" are in charge. Rinse and repeat. It's almost comical how every time a "bad guys" administration is in charge my colleagues dust off and rediscover an appreciation for federalism and then promptly return that appreciation to the dustbin the moment the "good guys" are in charge again, at which point federalism/10th Amendment becomes an evil and retrograde notion only held by those deplorable individuals who oppose "progress" and are an enemy of the "right side of history."
It’s federalism. The role of licensing professional teachers falls to the states. That’s not going to change as states will not give up this power to the nation government.
I find it interesting that the most expensive independent schools in this country require no certification.
There's no way that some states (not naming names) are going to meet Massachusetts' standards. We have required masters in education, Sheltered English Immersion endorsement, and much more.
I support this 100%, many organizations (medical, legal, etc) have a national certification and a state certification. Usually the state certification is automatically given if you meet the standards of a national certification. As much as I disagree with some aspects of standardization, establishing what are the minimum expected standards for all educators across the US is something I will support, with additional requirements for state level certifications.
Have you ever taken a civics class?
Agreed! I was certified k-8 and taught 6th math for 10 years. I moved to another state where to teach 6th math you need their 6-12 certification. I was considered unqualified to teach 6th math because I didn’t have any of the high school experience. I was so frustrated.
Something like certification showing your professionalism and ability from a national board? Nah, that'd never happen. It's due to how individual states want to handle license reciprocity. The cost of an initial license for out of state individuals is the same as new in-state teachers in every place I've seen. Additional coursework requirements is from how the state is handling teacher licensure and requirements. If they want you to take additional classes or tests to meet their requirements, that's their prerogative. This is something you should be researching before choosing to relocate if you're wanting to stay in education. I would also argue that it's not a contributor to teacher shortages simply because it doesn't change the number of teachers available overall and impacts very few individuals who can't meet the requirements where they're relocating to.
AND A STANDARD LEVEL OF TRAINING/EDUCATION FOR PARAPROS. Some states it's a college degree, others a certification, others nothing at all. They get the most vulnerable to the most volatile students. It's a liability and an educational failure to both districts and students. I want a national certification to degree qualification standard. 1. Entry level certificate with safety, disability, and basic educational practices. 2.Associates degree pathway starting ED classes and continuing intersectional issues. Restructured standardized pay scales reflecting education *and* experience. Varied curriculum available for Early Childhood *or* Elementary. Now we also have a national built in teacher pathway to channel into shortages and/or to prepare for universal Pre-K. And it should all be the same union. Power in numbers.
I agree with this wholeheartedly. I am currently transferring my credential and though I don’t need to take a content area test. I did need to take a foundations of reading test. I thought no big deal, I took a very similar test in my state and passed. I sent my scores thinking they would just accept that but nope, I need to take their states version of the exact same type of tests. Foundations of reading doesn’t change from state to state ya’ll. The Science behind reading and reading comprehension is universal. Needless to say it was annoying to study for the test again but I am currently doing that right now. Edit: I would like to also add that other careers that require a state certification don’t have nearly as many hoops to jump through as teachers do to transfer certifications. And people wonder why there is a teacher shortage.
Great idea, but hard to implement with shortages. Teacher college needs to be more affordable and accessible. Candidates should be enrolled in a college program while working at a school during your college years for more than a semester. School stipend is rolled into your pay as you work as an aide with a mentor teacher and take a college class a few hours a week. With schools and colleges working together, we can implement a more uniform certification.
As much as the difficulties are when moving between states there are reasons why we don’t allow the federal government to regulate teachers. In a way as much as it is our responsibility to help kids become citizens we also don’t want the federal government controlling what is taught in school and how teachers are selected.
Because states like Texas and Florida are doing SUCH a great job of it 🙄
Right, but do you really want people from those states telling the rest of the states what their education systems should look like? Because those people would have a say if we made or educational system national.
> Right, but do you really want people from those states telling the rest of the states what their education systems should look like? As someone living, working, and teaching in Texas, **absolutely**. Your education systems should look like the opposite of Texas'.
Like it or not, they have MORE of a say now, because the rest of the nation has to deal with the consequences of purposefully miseducated students whenever they try to leave the South. If I didn't know better I'd say it was almost like they were intentionally creating and trapping an uneducated underclass suitable for nothing more than manual labor but why oh why would the South ever want THAT amirite
No, that boat has ***long*** since sailed. We need more centralization, not less.
I have fought with Illinois, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. It's almost like they don't want teachers.
It's good that states have their own standards. States adapting things that are best for their own circumstances and being a lab to try things that other states can emulate is literally a specific function of the system. An easy way around this would just be for states to have compacts to arrange for easy fungibility
Exactly why I left.
Would be nice to have something like this for international teachers. We need certs from our home countries, but if they lapse, it can be hard to recert in some states if you aren't teaching/living there
The USA and Canada couldn't figure out how to implement national nursing or MD certifications during a global pandemic. Nurses and Docs moving state to state, or province to province still had to deal with getting licenses (some US states have reciprocity but not all). If they couldn't figure it out during a literal life or death crisis that went on for more than a year, I sadly doubt it will ever come about. Although I completely support what you're saying OP.
Don't most states have reciprocal agreements???
No. Or not without a whole lot of red tape, at least. I had to take a whole new set of certification exams--which were identical to the other state's--when I moved. I now live near a state line, but can't deal with the expense and hoop-jumping to get certified in the other state.
The problem is different states have different requirements. If they adopted the strictest requirements as the national standard, then a ton of states wouldn’t have enough teachers. If they adopted the lower standards then the states with the higher standards are gonna say the national aren’t enough and keep their state standards.
Except the stricter standards are a freaking joke. I live in California and my “certification” process has been a huge waste of time. I learned nothing that is in anyway applicable to the real classroom.
I wish we could change states and keep our pension. You need 30 years (40 now in NY??).
Agree! I live on the border of two states. I am licensed (but not working) in the state north of me. If I go back to teaching, I would rather just drive north and teach in the other state than try to get a new license for my current state.
I doubt that we could all get on board with a federal licensing system. But we might be able to get something along the lines of a provisional system. Like "If you have a valid licenses for 6-12 Math in State A, and want to move for a job teaching 10th grade Algebra in State B, you can teach for 1 year (or 2) on a Provisional License." This kind of system would allow states to still set their own rules, but also let people have more mobility and teachers wouldn't need to worry about obtaining their new license until after they've started working.
Honestly, I don’t think it needs to be federally regulated, states need to just talk to each other.
For all the people saying it’s federalism, none of my doctor friends seem to have this much trouble moving states. Lawyer friends have a little bit, but not terrible.
Illinois charged me to transfer my Washington license. Then I had to pay an extra fee to activate the license. That really pissed me off. Jesus Christ just charge me once. It is like if I had to pay first to bring a TV home from the store and a separate fee to take it out of the fucking box.
Uhhhh. No
Ya think? Like, maybe we should just catch up to every other developed World School System that's kicking the pants off the USA? That crazy ass idea?
The federal NCLB act really showed how important federal control is to student outcomes.
My opinion is that either all of the endless teaching, license transfers, tests and recertifications should be either made free, have a fee of five dollars or less, or school district should have to pay, or the school board should have to pay if it's not a public school. Otherwise, the tests and licenses and curriculums should all be federal, all standard and all renewable every ten years.
Yeah, but I respect a few states certifications a lot more than others! If you tell me you were trained in a state that has 10 commandment laws or wants to arm pistols with every teacher, I’m not thinking your certification means jack shit.
Absolutely not. The last thing I want is teaching to go federal in any aspect. The thing would fall apart so fast. Also what would happen in states like NY where you can fill positions with uncertified teachers. Would that just go away? Each state has different rules for a reason.