Identifying Effective Teachers Policy
Missouri's requirements for licensure advancement and renewal are not based on evidence of teacher effectiveness.
In Missouri, to advance from the Initial Professional Classification (IPC) to the Career Continuous Professional Classification (CCPC), teachers are required to complete the following: four years of teaching; development and implementation of a professional development plan, consisting of at least 30 contact hours and including clearly stated goals for improvement and enrichment; participation in a mentoring program for two school years; participation in a beginning teacher assistance program; and participation in the district's teacher evaluations.
Missouri does not include evidence of effectiveness as a factor in the renewal of a professional teaching license.
Missouri requires individuals with Initial Professional Certificates (IPC) to complete 30 contact hours of professional development during the first four years of teaching. Individuals with Career Continuous Professional Certificates (CCPC) must complete 15 contact hours each year. The professional development may include hours spent in class in an appropriate college curriculum (one college credit = 15 contact hours) or district-approved professional improvement activities. Teachers with a CCPC must complete at least 15 contact professional development hours each year. Teachers may exempt themselves from the professional development requirement by meeting two of the following three criteria: 10 years of teaching experience, possession of a master's degree and/or holding rigorous national certification.
Require evidence of effectiveness as a part of teacher licensing policy.
Missouri should require evidence of teacher effectiveness to be a factor in determining whether teachers can renew their licenses or advance to a higher-level license. Although requiring the inclusion of results from teacher evaluations in teacher licensure decisions may be a step in the right direction, Missouri's current requirements only require "participation." There is no indication that ratings are considered. Further, the state's requirements do not ensure that classroom effectiveness is considered in teachers' evaluations (see Goal 3-B).
Discontinue license requirements with no direct connection to classroom effectiveness.
While targeted requirements may potentially expand teacher knowledge and improve teacher practice, Missouri's general, nonspecific coursework requirements for license advancement and renewal merely call for teachers to complete a certain amount of seat time. These requirements do not correlate with teacher effectiveness.
End requirements tying teacher advancement to master's degrees.
Even though not required for teacher licensing, Missouri should remove its option that teachers obtain a master's degree for license advancement. Research is conclusive and emphatic that master's degrees do not have any significant correlation to classroom performance. Rather, advancement should be based on evidence of teacher effectiveness.
Missouri recognized the factual accuracy of this analysis.