To gauge the level of belief in specific brain myths, the author relied on a paper by Paul Howard - Jones recently published in Nature, and the author used some items from Howard - Jones» research.21 The author also used test items from the Educational Testing Service's
teacher licensure exam to determine if the public could accurately answer such questions.
The training programs also dedicate less course time to training teachers in the content they will teach (in part because curriculum can vary significantly from state to state) and
teacher licensure exams do not include as difficult questions on content pedagogy as those in top - performing countries.
William Carey provides students two courses required for teacher licensure at no cost; the Barksdale Reading Institute provides training to help aspiring teachers pass
the teacher licensure exam.
«Their legislation seeks to change teacher licensing standards from requiring that teachers pass a Praxis exam to requiring that they pass the much more rigorous North Carolina Foundations of Reading and General Curriculum tests, which are based on Massachusetts» MTEL
teacher licensure exam.»
Once states have meaningful exams in place that are effective predictors of subsequent classroom performance, states should set high, meaningful passing scores for
teacher licensure exams, as opposed to the standard practice of setting passing scores well below the median.
Often, these tests do not examine a teacher candidate's ability to teach this content.2 Until recently,
teacher licensure exams were mostly comprised of multiple - choice and a few short answer questions.
Lastly, ensuring that
teacher licensure exams are a meaningful measure of readiness to teach, and creating a uniform system for licensure, can increase student achievement.
Passing scores for the same
teacher licensure exam also vary widely across states.
Not only are there problems with the ways in which these exams assess teachers, but these exams often set the bar too low — an issue that is, in part, a result of each state's ability to set passing scores for
teacher licensure exams.
Ensuring that
teacher licensure exams are a meaningful measure of readiness to teach can also allow the teaching profession to accrue the same level of respect as other professions, such as medicine and law.
States that make
teacher licensure exams a more meaningful measure of readiness to teach can ensure that teachers are better prepared before entering classrooms of their own.
Teacher licensure exams that disproportionately exclude teacher candidates of color despite little evidence that these exams predict teacher effectiveness.
Not exact matches
When nearly 60 percent of the would - be
teachers who took Massachusetts» first - ever
licensure exam flunked last year, the shock waves reverberated throughout the state and beyond.
In other words, some people who do well on a content
exam are terrible
teachers; while some who do poorly on a
licensure exam are great
teachers.
As I have shown in the journals Educational Policy and the Journal of School Choice: International Research and Reform,
licensure exams are very loosely related to
teacher effectiveness.
Since there is little research directly assessing the influence of pedagogical training on student outcomes, this debate tends to focus on the impact of
teachers» performance on
licensure exams and the merits of licensing
teachers.
Across many
licensure exams, large gaps exist in the passage rates of white and African American potential
teachers.
Four factors perpetuate this patchwork system: from state - to - state,
licensure exams are rarely a meaningful measure of readiness to teach; the bar for passing is often set too low; little uniformity exists across state lines; and current processes limit the ability of
teachers to easily transfer their licenses to other states.
States should ensure that
licensure exams are a meaningful measure of readiness to teach, requiring future
teachers to demonstrate both pedagogical and content knowledge, and classroom skills.
Some new
licensure exams require prospective
teachers to demonstrate their skills leading a classroom in order to pass.23 These types of skills - based tests have the potential to more meaningfully measure teaching skills.
Finally,
teacher trainees who are members of communities of color score lower on
licensure exams that serve as passports to teaching careers.
As such, they are being incorporated in nearly a hundred
teacher preparation programs and utilized as a tool for consequential
licensure exams.
Potential elementary school
teachers in 21 states take the same test for licensure — the Praxis Principles of Learning & Teaching exam — with a possible score range of 100 to 200.11 Teachers in Iowa must earn a scaled score of 167 to pass, while teachers in Alabama pass with a scaled score of just 145.12 The average performance range — defined as the range of scaled scores earned by the middle 50 percent of the examinees — is 168 to 182; both Iowa's and Alabama's cut scores were well below the median score o
teachers in 21 states take the same test for
licensure — the Praxis Principles of Learning & Teaching
exam — with a possible score range of 100 to 200.11
Teachers in Iowa must earn a scaled score of 167 to pass, while teachers in Alabama pass with a scaled score of just 145.12 The average performance range — defined as the range of scaled scores earned by the middle 50 percent of the examinees — is 168 to 182; both Iowa's and Alabama's cut scores were well below the median score o
Teachers in Iowa must earn a scaled score of 167 to pass, while
teachers in Alabama pass with a scaled score of just 145.12 The average performance range — defined as the range of scaled scores earned by the middle 50 percent of the examinees — is 168 to 182; both Iowa's and Alabama's cut scores were well below the median score o
teachers in Alabama pass with a scaled score of just 145.12 The average performance range — defined as the range of scaled scores earned by the middle 50 percent of the examinees — is 168 to 182; both Iowa's and Alabama's cut scores were well below the median score of 176.13
In addition to a lack of uniformity across state lines for passing an
exam, there is also little uniformity among
teacher licensure processes generally.
Additionally, the adoption of a well - designed assessment can help guide
teacher preparation programs to better prepare their students for both the classroom and
licensure exams.
The Praxis Subject Assessments are not a requirement for initial
licensure, but
teachers must take and pass the
exam in order to advance to a Professional certificate and continue teaching in Alaska.
Teachers applying for initial
licensure with endorsements in Elementary Education or Social Studies Composite must complete the relevant Praxis II
exams.
The weak correlation between passing a
licensure exam and subsequent student achievement highlights this mismatch between these assessments and
teacher practice.
Four key results are likely to emerge from ensuring that
teacher licensure systems are uniform and include
exams that are meaningful measures of readiness to teach.
In order to quash the misconception that teaching is easy,
licensure exams must be thorough and intellectually demanding to ensure that potential
teachers possess all of the content and pedagogical knowledge and skills necessary to thrive in the classroom.
Alternate route candidates for
teacher certification in Minnesota must pass the same exams as traditional - route educators, the National Evaluation Series (NES) Essential Academic Skills Test and the Minnesota Teacher Licensure Examinations
teacher certification in Minnesota must pass the same
exams as traditional - route educators, the National Evaluation Series (NES) Essential Academic Skills Test and the Minnesota
Teacher Licensure Examinations
Teacher Licensure Examinations (MTLE).
Instead, uniform
teacher licensure systems and meaningful
exams can be one part of ensuring that every
teacher feels prepared to teach in any city or state, which will ultimately lead to an increase in student success across the country.
For example, both Oregon and Georgia use the Praxis II Mathematics: Content Knowledge
exam for the
licensure of prospective secondary school math
teachers (a test judged to be at the advanced high school level.
In Transforming Teaching, the National Education Association called for a career continuum based on national professional teaching standards that guide preparation and
teacher performance assessments completed before
licensure.8 In Raising the Bar, the American Federation of
Teachers called for a «bar
exam» for teaching that offers a nationally available performance assessment for
licensure, along with evidence of competence in the subject area and strong clinical training.9
These
teachers breeze through insultingly easy
licensure exams.
Making adjustments to state
teacher licensure requirements to allow teaching candidates to demonstrate their competency through rigorous but more authentic performance assessments, such as the edTPA, that do not have the degree of racial disparity in pass rates that traditional
exams have had.
After completing a
teacher preparation program,
teacher candidates in all states are typically required to pass state
licensure exams before teaching in a public school.107 Licensure exams, which cover both the content area of licensure and teaching pedagogy, are designed to act as a screening point for teachers — ensuring a minimum competency in the content of the subject to be taught and knowledge regarding the practice of
licensure exams before teaching in a public school.107
Licensure exams, which cover both the content area of licensure and teaching pedagogy, are designed to act as a screening point for teachers — ensuring a minimum competency in the content of the subject to be taught and knowledge regarding the practice of
Licensure exams, which cover both the content area of
licensure and teaching pedagogy, are designed to act as a screening point for teachers — ensuring a minimum competency in the content of the subject to be taught and knowledge regarding the practice of
licensure and teaching pedagogy, are designed to act as a screening point for
teachers — ensuring a minimum competency in the content of the subject to be taught and knowledge regarding the practice of teaching.
A study of
teacher testing in North Carolina found a positive relationship between
teacher performance on
licensure exams and student learning gains.108 However, other studies have failed to find a significant relationship between
teacher effectiveness and performance on
licensure exams.109 Some of that inconsistency may be linked to the quality of the
exams, which vary by state.
Once students have successfully completed all coursework and state mandated
exams for
teacher certification, they are recommended as
teacher candidates to the Illinois State Educator Preparation and
Licensure Board to receive licensing.
These programs are designed to prepare students to operate in a classroom setting as well as pass the Massachusetts
teacher certification
exams required for
licensure.
But perhaps this problem has never been stated as starkly as in a recent paper examining the distribution of
teacher quality in Washington state: «We demonstrate that in elementary, middle school, and high school classrooms (both math and reading), every measure of
teacher quality — experience,
licensure exam score, and value - added estimates of effectiveness — is inequitably distributed across every indicator of student disadvantage — free / reduced lunch status, underrepresented minority, and low prior academic performance.»
Would
licensure exams be covered for
teachers?