Retaining Effective Teachers Policy
Evidence of effectiveness: Virginia's requirements for licensure advancement and renewal are not based on evidence of teacher effectiveness.
Advancing to a professional license: Virginia requires all teachers to apply for the renewable collegiate professional license, which is valid for five years. This license is available to teachers who have "satisfied all requirements for licensure," which includes successful evaluations.
Renewing a professional license: Virginia's requirement for renewal is completion of 180 professional development points. Points can be accrued from one or more of the following options: college credit, professional conference, curriculum development, publishing an article or book, mentorship/supervision, an educational project and employing an educational agency professional development activity. Virginia also offers the option of a postgraduate professional license for teachers holding a graduate (master's or doctorate) degree.
Require evidence of effectiveness as a part of teacher licensing policy.
Virginia should require evidence of teacher effectiveness to be a factor in determining whether teachers may renew or advance to a higher-level license. The state's advancement requirement that teachers must successfully complete their teacher evaluations does not ensure that objective measures of student growth will be adequately considered.
Discontinue license renewal requirements with no direct connection to classroom effectiveness.
Although targeted requirements may potentially expand teacher knowledge and improve teacher practice, Virginia's menu of general, nonspecific professional development requirements for license renewal merely calls for teachers to complete a certain amount of seat time. These requirements do not correlate with teacher effectiveness.
End requirement tying teacher advanced degrees to licensure advancement.
Virginia should remove its mandate that teachers obtain a master's or doctorate degree for any level of license advancement. Research is clear that advanced degrees generally do not have any significant correlation with classroom performance. Rather, advancement should be based on evidence of teacher effectiveness.
Virginia was helpful in providing NCTQ with the facts necessary for this analysis. The state also contended that licenses may be renewed upon the completion of 180 professional development points within a five-year validity period based on an individualized professional development plan that includes ongoing, sustained, and high-quality professional development. Every person seeking renewal of a license must complete all renewal requirements, including professional development, in a manner prescribed by the board, except that no person seeking renewal of a license must be required to satisfy any such requirement by completing coursework and earning credit at an institution of higher education.
Virginia affirmed that it does not require an advanced degree as a condition of professional licensure for teachers.
9A: Licensure Advancement
The reason for probationary licensure should be to determine teacher effectiveness. Most states grant new teachers a probationary license that must later be converted to an advanced or professional license. A probationary period is sound policy as it provides an opportunity to determine whether individuals merit professional licensure. However, very few states require any determination of teacher performance or effectiveness in deciding whether a teacher will advance from the probationary license. Instead, states generally require probationary teachers to fulfill a set of requirements to receive advanced certification. Therefore, ending the probationary period is based on whether a checklist has been completed rather than on teacher performance and effectiveness.
Most state requirements for achieving professional certification have not been shown to affect teacher effectiveness.[1] Unfortunately, not only do most states fail to connect advanced certification to actual evidence of teacher effectiveness, but also the requirements teachers must most often meet are not even related to teacher effectiveness. The most common requirement for professional licensure is completion of additional coursework, often resulting in a master's degree. Requiring teachers to obtain additional training in their teaching area would be meaningful; however, the requirements are usually vague, allowing the teacher to fulfill coursework requirements from long menus that include areas having no connection or use to the teacher in the classroom.[2] The research evidence on requiring a master's degree is quite conclusive: with rare exceptions, these degrees have not been shown to make teachers more effective.[3] This is likely due in no small part to the fact that teachers may not attain master's degrees in their subject areas.
In addition to their dubious value, these requirements may also serve as a disincentive to teacher retention. Talented probationary teachers may be unwilling to invest time and resources in more education coursework. Further, they may well pursue advanced degrees that facilitate leaving teaching.