Summary: The wider body of research that supports the creation of teacher career ladders and teacher residency programs relates to overall teacher quality. Research has found that teacher attrition and turnover can be reduced through strong induction into practice. Examples include mentoring, residency, and internship programs.
Education Commission of the States Comprehensive Resource: Teaching Quality
Issues include: certification/licensure, compensation/diversified pay systems, hard-to-staff schools, high-need subjects, highly-qualified teachers and paraprofessionals, induction programs and mentoring, professional development, recruitment/retention, special education, teacher effectiveness and evaluation, teacher preparation/education, and working conditions.
Recent State Policies/Activities: Teacher Certification/Licensure - Testing Requirements. Collection from the ECS state policy database.
Recent State Policies/Activities: Teaching Quality - Certification - Collection from the ECS state policy database.
State Testing and Assessment Requirements for Initial and Continuing General Education Teachers - There are multiple requirements for teachers to become and remain certified and/or licensed to teach, including different types of tests and assessments. Passing one or more exams is a common requirement for initial teacher licensure. Assessment requirements vary across states from the type of tests administered to the required passing score(s). This ECS StateNote reports on the types of assessments each state requires for initial and continuing teacher certification and licensure only, and is not intended to advocate for the use of teacher assessments in determining teacher quality. (Angela Baber, Education Commission of the States, January 2008).
Teacher Certification and Licensure - 50 State Database - This database, compiled by the Education Commission of the States as a partner in the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality, contains information on state level policies regarding the certification and licensure of teachers. (Teaching Quality and Leadership Institute, ECS, 2006).
State-Level Testing Requirements for Teacher Certification - This ECS StateNote addresses teacher certification testing requirements across all 50 States, the District of Columbia and the four U.S. territories. The report classifies states according to whether they: (1) have their own teacher certification exams, (2) require some combination of the Educational Testing Services Praxis exam series or (3) require some combination of different assessments for teacher certification. (Angela Baber, Education Commission of the States, January 2007).
Recent State Policies/Activities: Teaching Quality--Induction and Mentoring - Collection from the ECS state policy database.
New and Beginning Teacher Mentoring - Induction programs and mentoring for new and beginning teachers are on the rise in many states. Research indicates that novice teachers benefit from receiving orientation to their job and teaming up with veteran teachers and are, therefore, less likely to leave the teaching profession then those who receive no training or support. This ECS StateNote identifies which states have mentoring policies in place and includes information on the components of the program, requirements of mentors, compensation for mentors and whether the program is voluntary or required. (Jeanne Kaufmann, Education Commission of the States, December 2007).
Mentoring Programs for Special Education Teachers: State Approaches - This brief provides an overview of existing research on teacher mentoring, especially for special educators; discusses best practices in developing and implementing mentoring programs; and describes several state-level special education mentoring programs based on interviews with program staff. Interview findings include implementation history; program features such as, mentoring services, matching mentors and mentees, training and other supports, fiscal and human resources, administration, and evaluation; and outcomes of the various programs. (Eve Muller and Paula Burdette, Project Forum, May 2007).
SREB States Take Action to Support Beginning Teachers - This paper looks at Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) states' efforts to support and retain beginning teachers. Currently, all 16 SREB states offer some type of support for new teachers, with 10 of those states mandating such programs. For teachers in five of the states, program participation is required to attain regular licensure. (Southern Regional Education Board, August 2006) .
Effective Support for New Teachers in Washington State: Standards for Beginning Teacher Induction - Research has found that differences in teacher capability can account for as much as 90% of the variation in student learning in schools with similar student characteristics, making sustained and purposeful support to the teaching force critically important. This document provides Washington state educators with a set of widely accepted standards for quality teacher induction programs. (Center for Strengthening the Teaching Profession, May 2005)
The Coalition of Urban Teacher Residencies
Boston Teacher Residency Program
AUSL-Chicago Teacher Residency Program
Denver Public Schools Teacher Residency Program (upcoming)
Research related to Minneapolis Teacher Residency Program and here.