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Maryland
Maryland was the first state to offer the A.A.T. degree. The State Plan for Postsecondary Education required the Maryland Higher Education Commission to pursue efforts to provide dependable articulation of credits from two- to four-year institutions. Maryland community colleges then were authorized to offer an associate of arts in teaching degree, a change initiated by the governor who convened both levels of institutions to address the teacher shortage problem as well as articulation. The various community colleges developed their own teacher education programs to meet standards developed by a committee comprising educators from two- and four-year institutions approved by the commission.

The resulting A.A.T. ensures a fully articulated transfer for community college students in teacher education to any of the 22 four-year public and independent institutions offering education programs in the state. This agreement replaced 353 separate articulation agreements in place before development of the associate degree.

Maryland’s A.A.T. degree allows prospective teachers to take community college class credits that parallel the first two years of a baccalaureate program in teacher education. If a community college seeks to offer the A.A.T., it must follow standards set by the Maryland Higher Education Commission. The college has to submit the curriculum, teacher credentials and institutional support for the program. Student requirements for obtaining the A.A.T include:

• 60 credits of lower-division coursework in the arts and sciences to satisfy NCATE standards
• Courses on educational psychology, special education and educational theory
• 2.75 gradepoint average
• Passing reading, writing and math proficiency tests
• Developing a portfolio
• Completing field experience requirements.

Florida
Nineteen Florida community colleges offer associate degrees in education. The degree requires students to take three education courses: Introduction to Education, Introduction to Multicultural Education: Teaching Diverse Populations and Introduction to Educational Technology. After earning an associate of arts in education, students can enroll with junior status in any of Florida’s state universities’ colleges of education. Most Florida university education programs require students to have a 2.5 gradepoint average and various minimum scores on the SAT and ACT.

Texas
Texas is in the early stages of developing an A.A.T. With 50 community college districts and more than 75 colleges within those districts, articulation and transferability problems for community college teacher education students will be addressed by developing a degree that could be offered by any community college in the state.

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board appointed a committee, consisting of both community college and university representatives, to begin work on an associate of arts in teaching degree to be offered by community colleges. The committee includes university provosts and vice presidents of academic affairs, university deans of education, presidents and vice chancellors of community colleges, and representatives of associations with affected constituencies. Committee objectives were to define the rationale for the A.A.T., determine the number of semester credit hours of teacher education coursework that could be offered, and develop faculty committees.

Faculty committees will work together to develop the A.A.T. programs, establish specific requirements for the different subject areas reflected in the requirements for state teaching certificates, and determine which courses universities and community colleges will teach.