NCREL Policy Issues
Issue 12, November 2002
The Impact of Alternative Certification in the Midwest
About This Issue
This edition of Policy Issues focuses on alternative teacher certification in the NCREL region (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin). A brief literature review is presented, and the results of an analysis of the latest Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) are discussed. Information on alternative certification programs in the seven states is reviewed, and the results of a survey of over 1,000 principals in the region regarding their experiences with alternatively certified teachers are described.
The results of the analysis of the SASS data suggested that alternative certification has already had a fairly substantial impact on the region, even in states where legislation authorizing these programs is relatively new. This analysis also showed that the induction experiences of alternatively certified teachers are relatively similar to those of other new teachers. The survey of principals in the region revealed that while a large majority of teachers from alternative certification programs were rated as equal to or above other newly hired teachers in terms of quality, the performance of slightly more than one fourth of the alternatively certified teachers was rated below that of other new hires. The survey also found that alternative certification programs have had only a small effect on the diversity of the teaching force in the region, and that most teachers hired from alternative certification programs have been retained at rates equal to those of other new hires.
This report on alternative certification concludes with suggestions regarding future policy decisions. These include accreditation for alternative certification programs, incentives and rewards for quality programs, and increased funding for research and evaluation.
