Licensure tests should be an efficient and comprehensive way for policymakers to ensure that all teachers possess the basic knowledge and skills they need to effectively teach students to read. Yet more than half of states use a weak licensure test that fails to adequately measure elementary teachers' knowledge of scientifically-based reading…

The researcher analyzed data from two online cohorts of preservice teachers at a university in Washington State. Teacher education policies vary from state to state, with varying requirements for basic skills and standardized performance tests for teacher licensure. At the time of this study, Washington State required minimum scores for both basic…

This study examines why the passing rates of African Americans on the CBEST are the lowest in California at 60%. Madkins (2011) identified licensure testing as a significant reason why African Americans cannot enter the teaching progression. According to Darling-Hammond et al. (2016), California has an ongoing credentialed teacher shortage. An…

The author's research shows that in 29 states, government-distributed test-preparation materials on high-stakes certification exams include the debunked theory of "learning styles," which holds that matching instruction to students' preferred mode of learning--seeing, listening, or physically engaging in content-aligned activities, for…

Teacher certification exams are supposed to assess if a student is likely to succeed in teaching. What if an exam seems to be inappropriate? This article is an inquiry of the New York State Content Specialty Test for Early Childhood Candidates, particularly the math section. It raises the issue of whether we are asking the right questions and…

State Boards of Accountancy and other regulators monitor state-wide sit and pass rates on the CPA exam in fulfilling their mission to protect the public. These metrics can prompt important policy decisions such as state CPA exam requirements as well as the accounting curricula and resource allocation at that state's colleges and universities.…

As in other highly skilled careers, licensure requirements were put in place to ensure that candidates that enter the teaching profession are competent and effective. Unfortunately, licensure requirements can change from year to year and vary depending on the subject area in which a candidate plans to teach, making the pathway to obtaining full…

This study investigated how state licensure examinations address school counseling program evaluation and research. In the 31 states that require them, examinations gave little attention to measuring competencies associated with designing and conducting a program evaluation. We found variability in how these examinations addressed research…

This report, one of a series of state policy studies produced by the Learning Policy Institute in collaboration with the Council of Chief State School Officers, examines teacher licensure and preparation program approval systems in West Virginia. This study was designed to assess how these systems are advancing the preparation of a well-qualified…

Anecdotal evidence points to the importance of school principals, but the limited existing research has neither provided consistent results nor indicated any set of essential characteristics of effective principals. This paper exploits extensive student-level panel data across six states to investigate both variations in principal performance and…

With vetted data from state department of education websites, the authors undertook to update previous studies of special education licensure. They organized state licensure structures by the presence or absence of (a) grade bands and (b) differentiations (by category or severity). They assessed the impact of structure on student outcomes and…

We evaluate the predictive validity of the Massachusetts Candidate Assessment of Performance (CAP), a practice-based assessment of teaching skills that is typically taken during a candidate's student teaching placement and is a requirement for teacher preparation program completion in Massachusetts. We find that candidates' performance on the CAP…

With the significant infusion of dollars now available to both states and school districts, we have a unique opportunity to finally reduce high rates of illiteracy, particularly in populations which have been traditionally underserved by an inequitable system of education. Instead of a third of all children entering 4th grade still unable to read…

Building a strong, diverse teacher workforce in sufficient numbers requires understanding of the points along the pathway into the teaching profession where aspiring teachers are most likely lost. Currently, policymakers, state education agencies, and teacher prep programs have limited insight into the obstacles along this pathway, largely due to…

Background/Context: Although some research has been conducted on the experiences of preservice teachers of color who attend Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), little cross-institutional, qualitative research--disaggregated by type of MSI-- exists on the potential of MSIs to prepare and graduate teachers of color. This article examines how…