Missouri Now Recognizes Online Teacher Certification

Yesterday, many new laws became effective in Missouri, and one of the more controversial allows those seeking a career change an easier route towards becoming a licensed teacher in Missouri schools:

A state law taking effect today allows mid-career professionals to become certified to teach under the alternative program called ABCTE, or the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence.

The ABCTE is a bi-partisan non-profit organization that began in 2001, was funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, and its certifications are recognized as “highly qualified” by the 2002 No Child Left Behind Act. The ABCTE certification process first requires a bachelor’s degree from an ABCTE accredited school (in any subject). The prcess then can be completed online, through its Passport to Teaching program, and involves passing two four-hour multiple choice examinations and completing 60 hours of teaching in a classroom (including as a substitute or paraprofessional). Candidates must also pass a background check.

This is in stark contrast to the traditional certification process for teachers, which generally requires a teaching degree and at least one full semester as a student teacher, and includes an intense pedagogical focus that, critics argue, the ABCTE simply does not have. This can’t be denied, although the Missouri Education Certification Coordinater seems to have tried (from Missourinet):

Education certification coordinator Rusty Rosenkoetter at the state education department says the state law requires ABCTE teachers to have some classroom experience, but not the semester of student-teaching that education college graduates have to have. The law requires sixty hours of substitute teaching or sixty hours of paraprofessional work. She says that’s better than nothing. (emphasis added)

To be sure, the National Education Association (NEA) doesn’t mince words, as this 2003 press release shows:

The American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence (ABCTE) teacher certification process is a sham and demeaning to the teaching profession. Instead of helping to professionalize teaching, ABCTE demeans it by lowering teacher preparation standards and promoting a “quick fix” experiment on our children.

It is important to note that Missouri can still require additional hurdles to be cleared for certification, although there is no indication whether that will be the case. It is also important to note that ABCTE alumni will only be able to teach students between grades 5-12, and Missouri State University notes that the following areas will be accepted:

• Biology (9-12)
• Chemistry (9-12)
• English (9-12)
• Mathematics (9-12)
• Physics (9-12)
• General Science (5-12)
• Language Arts (5-12)

Realizing that all but two subjects will be limited to grades 9-12, the harsh criticism regarding the pedagogical deficiencies of ABCTE certification may be weakened due to the age and maturity level with those grades. There could certainly be benefits to having teachers from other careers parlay some of that real-world experience to older students. Nonetheless, the NEA argues that there are already respected methods in place:

Critics of the program, such as the National Education Association, call it a “certification scheme” and say states like Missouri already have programs in place to certify mid-career professionals. They say the ABCTE process does not require traditional coursework or teaching experience.

Still, there is clearly a practical blocking point for those who want to change their careers to teaching, considering that many could not afford the cost or travel issues inherent with going back to a traditional school for a new degree. Yesterday, in the Post Dispatch, these concerns were mentioned by Phil Moran, who currently is working on his ABCTE certification:

“I’m thrilled about anything that can keep me away from driving to a bunch of night classes,” said Moran, of Manchester. “I’m a pretty skeptical person. I’m usually wary of fly-by-night things, and this is not that at all.”

In the comments section of the article, Moran clarified the quote used by the Post Dispatch:

My “thrilled” comment, whether I fully communicated it or not, was about saving considerable tuition, time, and gasoline after having spent a great deal of all three on higher education in recent years. My desire to switch into teaching is not made lightly, and it’s not about money; it’s about making a positive difference in young people’s lives.

Unfortunately, while there has been research into the success of ABCTE, what has been done has been underwhelming due to sample size issues. In the latest report from Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., which has done most of the research for ABCTE, just over 500 ‘Passport alumni’ (out of 605 who had completed the program as of October 1, 2007) responded to the survey regarding their current teaching status. ABCTE touts that 85% of Passport Alumni after three years are being retained in their job:

The program’s administrators say 85 percent of its teachers are in the classroom three years after getting their certification. It issued its 1,000th certificate last month. The group said that 95 percent of the principals it surveyed found ABCTE-certified teachers to be as effective or more effective than its traditionally certified peers.

However, the study done by the Mathematica Policy Institute shows otherwise, with 68.7% of the 99 respondents that were certified in 2004 or 2005 teaching K-12 at the time of the survey (which would have been roughly three years for 2004 alumni). Furthermore, the study also notes that over 30% of respondents were already certified teachers before seeking ABCTE certification. The reasons given for seeking ABCTE certification for an already-certified teacher were that the ABCTE certification would strengthen their current teaching positions, allow for lateral movement into new subjects, or update previous subject certifications that had lapsed. Thus, if 85% were being retained after three years, then over 30% of the 85% may have already been teachers in the first place.

Ultimately, it may be too soon to adequately assess the effectiveness of ABCTE certification, especially since the milestone 1000th teacher just recently became certified. This isn’t for lack of financial resources, however, as the ABCTE has been given $40,000,000 in grant money thus far, and there have been eyebrows raised as to the genesis of the program and some of the leaders involved in its creation (link to article dated December 2, 2004):

U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) has asked the federal Government Accountability Office to investigate whether grants were awarded because of the program’s ties to Deputy Secretary Eugene Hickok, who today (Dec. 2) announced his resignation from the Department of Education — his resignation is unrelated to Rep. Miller’s charges. Hickok was a co-founder of the Education Leaders Council, one of the groups that developed the testing program, before he joined the Department of Education at the beginning of President George W. Bush’s first term.

A press release from Miller also cites reports that two out of three Department of Education reviewers rejected ABCTE’s grant requests.

“The awarding of these grants to applicants who do not appear to meet the standards proscribed for grantees in the [No Child Left Behind Act] or by independent peer reviewers raises serious questions,” Miller said in a prepared statement. “The association of these grantees to high-ranking Department of Education officials compounds these concerns.”

While the ABCTE certainly got off to a slow start (although the money came fast), the pace has picked up as eight states now recognize the certification, including Missouri as the most recent.

The program certainly adds a convenient and cheap option for those looking for a career change; whether it will be good for students, however, remains to be seen

~ by msalsbery on August 29, 2008.