Alternative Certification: A Review of Theory and Research (2002)
(See the Alternative Certification Evaluation Template)
By Ray Legler, Ph.D.
One area of education reform that is receiving increasing attention is that of teacher quantity and quality. Most education researchers and practitioners have come to agreement on the fact that access to a qualified teacher is perhaps the most important determinant of student achievement. Alternative teacher certification is one approach to expanding the pool of applicants for teaching positions that many districts and states around the country are starting to employ. NCREL is continually interested in providing educators and policymakers with up-to-date and reliable information about issues most relevant to teacher supply and demand. Our previous work has focused on such topics as effective recruitment and retention policy, professional development models, and most recently, teacher mobility patterns in the first five years. There is growing interest and concern, however, about alternative routes to certification—what models have been implemented, how effective are they at preparing high quality teachers, and what are the policy implications? NCREL will explore each of these issues in our current contract period. We begin, however, with a synthesis of the literature.
Characteristics of Effective Programs
