> Toolkit Home > Alternative Certification

"Alternative certification" is a general term for non-traditional avenues that lead to teacher licensure. Alternative teacher certification programs (ACPs) are generally geared towards aspiring teachers who already have a baccalaureate degree, but who require additional education methods coursework and classroom experience. Such programs vary in requirements and sophistication and can be administered at the federal, state or district level.

Emergency certification programs are sometimes discussed as one among a variety of ACP options. These programs are usually a makeshift response to local teacher shortages in particular subject areas and typically provide participants with little or no training before entering the classroom and often no on-site support. For purposes of this overview, however, ACPs are defined as a means to teaching certification that falls outside traditional full-time, baccalaureate or post-baccalaureate teacher preparation programs – not including emergency certification.

History
Since 1985, an estimated 200,000 candidates have taken alternative routes to become certified teachers, with more than 130,000 receiving certification in the last five years Driven by teacher shortages and changing requirements resulting from the passage of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, close to one-third of all new teachers certified annually in the United States, enter the field via alternative certification programs currently offered by 45 states and the District of Columbia.

Alternative certification programs for teachers began in the mid-1980s in two states, New Jersey and Texas. Program development increased with provisions in NCLB that recognized alternative certification programs as an effective method to train teachers and encouraged states to become involved in this effort. Title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act: Preparing, Training, and Recruiting High Quality Teachers and Principals, supports programs to recruit qualified professionals from other fields and provide them with alternative routes to teacher certification, including Transition to Teaching and Troops to Teachers.

In the 2003 federal fiscal year, Congress appropriated $41.65 million for the Transition to Teaching program to enable mid-career persons to pursue alternative routes into the classroom. Troops to Teachers provides support to military personnel who have a bachelor’s degree to become a teacher through alternative certification programs. In addition, the Department of Education created the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence (ABCTE). ABCTE has developed exams to provide nontraditional candidates a way to become certified as a teacher.

Recent numbers from alternative certification programs across the nation show that significant interest in teacher training exists among professionals outside education. The first year that New York offered an alternative certification program, 2,300 applied for 250 spots; in the second year, 7,800 applied for 1,500 openings. Similarly, a Massachusetts ACP had more than 900 applicants for 105 slots. In Texas, a Houston-based regional education service center has offered an alternative certification program since the 1980’s. Although they regularly increase their capacity, they still have long waiting lists of applicants.

Alleviating the Teacher Shortage:
Alternative certification programs are typically targeted at individuals with baccalaureate degrees who are already in the workforce but interested in a career change. Programs are often targeted toward attracting potential teachers from under-represented ethnic or racial groups, under-served geographic areas, or individuals with subject expertise in high-demand fields. Alternative certification proponents argue that, by enticing people with a variety of work and life experiences, the programs boost the quantity, diversity and quality of teachers at the same time.

For instance, at a time when females far outnumber male teachers in public school classrooms, Troops to Teachers has successfully recruited more male teachers into the classroom than traditional teacher training programs. And Texas and New Jersey each saw a dramatic increase in the number of minorities trained as teachers as a result of successful alternative certification programs.

ACPs appeal to prospective teachers and state education officials coping with teacher shortages because they typically can be completed in a shorter timeframe and may be more affordable than traditional education degree programs. A key component of most alternative certification programs is their flexible or compressed scheduling, with many courses offered in the evenings and on weekends, making them more accessible to participants who are currently working.

Program Requirements
Persons entering an alternative teacher certification program must have a bachelor’s degree and usually an undergraduate major in the field for which they will be certified to teach. Eligibility requirements, including grade point average or other suitability standards, may be established by the ACP or the state. Candidates planning to teach at the elementary school level may qualify with a multi-disciplinary degree.

The length of alternative teacher certification programs range from a few months up to two years. Many deliver training through workshops scheduled throughout the year; others follow a more traditional course schedule. Some ACPs have candidates actually begin their assignment as a classroom teacher drawing a regular salary while they are still enrolled in the alternative program, and others require the training to be completed before the candidate starts teaching. Some ACPs require that a person have received a teaching contract offer before being accepted into the program. Most programs are offered through four-year institutions, school districts and regional education centers.

Community College Involvement
In 2000, Texas became the first state to formerly authorize community colleges to offer alternative certification programs for public school teachers. As of 2004, the Texas State Board for Educator Certification has approved 22 community college programs to offer ACPs. According to the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE), 328 alternative certification programs are currently offered through four-year colleges and universities across the nation. The number of community colleges involved with alternative certification was not reported. To date, there has been little or no research reporting on the number of teachers certified solely through a community college alternative certification program.

Community college proponents argue that two-year colleges are uniquely qualified to offer alternative certification teacher training programs based on their history of preparing non-traditional students to enter the workforce. Through their local community college, mid-career professionals can receive the training needed to become certified teachers without having to relocate or return to a university to begin a new degree program.

For some candidates, certification through a community college allows them to manage families, jobs and education without unreasonable commuting and scheduling problems. Community colleges are also more financially and geographically accessible than traditional colleges and universities, and offer the flexible scheduling needed to help working adults enter the teaching profession.

Although they are fewer in number than programs offered through other venues, alternative teacher certification programs in community colleges are on the rise.

Sources and Links

• National Center for Education Information. Alternative Teacher Certification: A State-by-State Analysis 2003.
  http://www.ncei.com

• Townsend, B.K. & Ignash, J.M. (Eds.). The Role of the Community College in Teacher Education. New Directions for Community Colleges, n. 121, Spring 2003.

• U.S. Department of Education. Planning and Evaluation Service. Preparing and Supporting New Teachers: A Literature Review. 2000.

• This is the web site of the National Center for Alternative Teacher Certification Information.
  http://www.altcert.org

• This is the web site of the National Association for Alternative Certification.
  http://www.alt-teachercert.org/index.asp

• The web site for Teach for America, an alternative route for recruiting teachers.
  http://www.teachforamerica.org

• This is a link to the Title II state reports and includes searchable reports on alternative certification routes for each state and links to the state teacher preparation web sites.
  http://www.title2.org/title2dr