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Gov. Gavin Newsom and California legislators have poured billions of dollars of state money into special grants and programs to recruit, train and retain educators in order to ease the state’s persistent teacher shortage. Lawmakers also have made temporary and permanent changes to teacher credentialing requirements since the pandemic, including waiving fees, to make it easier to become a teacher in California.
Teacher candidates have many choices. They can take the traditional route — attend a teacher preparation program and complete student teaching — or they can take part in a teacher residency or internship program that allows them to complete required coursework while teaching.
Teacher candidates can apply for residency programs through a university teacher preparation program that operates in partnership with one or more school districts. During their residency, teacher candidates are paired with experienced teachers for a year of clinical training. Residents are usually paid a stipend.
Prospective teachers also can enroll in a commission-approved district intern program or a university internship program. Both allow candidates who have bachelor’s degrees to teach while they complete their teacher preparation coursework. Most interns are the primary teacher in the classroom. These teachers hold intern credentials until they complete the requirements for a preliminary credential.
The state also has a California Classified School Employee Teacher Credentialing Program, which offers financial assistance and academic guidance to school staff who want to complete an undergraduate degree and earn a teaching credential. The staff members must work in districts that have been awarded a grant for the program through the state.
Most California teachers hold one of three basic teaching credentials — multiple-subject, single-subject and education specialist. Multiple-subject credentials are for elementary school teachers, single-subject credentials are generally for middle and high school teachers who teach one subject, and an education specialist credential is for special education teachers.
They must first earn a preliminary teaching credential and, after additional training and mentorship during their first two years of teaching, they can earn a clear credential.
A preliminary credential is good for five years.
Teachers must prove they have the skills needed to educate students. Before the pandemic, tests were traditionally used to determine if a teacher candidate was ready for a teacher preparation program or the classroom, but new legislation gives them the option to use university-approved coursework instead in some cases. Teacher candidates can check with their teacher preparation program administrator to determine which courses to take or have their transcript evaluated by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
Current flexibility: California has waived test fees through June 30, 2023.
Teachers must prove they have the basic skills to teach. Generally, this is done before a teacher preparation program. Here are the options:
Current flexibility: The Commission on Teacher Credentialing has extended the pandemic waiver that allows teacher candidates to student teach without completing their basic skills requirement. The flexibility ends May 1, 2023. Teacher candidates must complete the requirement before being recommended for a preliminary credential.
Teacher candidates are required to demonstrate proficiency in the subject they will teach before they can earn a credential. This has traditionally been done by passing the appropriate tests in the California Subject Examinations for Teachers, or CSET, but teachers can now also take coursework or a combination of tests in the CSET and coursework to satisfy this requirement.
Teacher candidates also can complete a bachelor’s degree in the subject area of the credential they are seeking. A teacher preparation program will evaluate the major to see if it is acceptable, but the Commission on Teacher Credentialing will make the call for candidates who are applying to the commission directly for credentials, such as those seeking emergency-style permits.
Current flexibility: The test can be waived until the end of a teacher candidate’s preparation program if they applied for an intern credential to teach in a school by June 30, 2022.
The RICA measures how well candidates for multiple-subject credentials and education specialists teach reading. The test is expected to be eliminated in 2025 when it will be incorporated into the Teacher Performance Assessment, which requires teachers to demonstrate their ability to teach.
Current flexibility: A teacher candidate enrolled in a teacher preparation program by June 30, 2022, isn’t required to take the RICA before earning a preliminary credential, but they must pass it before earning a clear credential.
Once a teacher is in the classroom, they are required to complete a performance assessment that demonstrates how well they assess students, design instruction, organize subject matter and perform other skills. The three assessment models — the California Teaching Performance Assessment, edTPA and Fresno Assessment of Student Teachers — require that teachers make a video of themselves teaching at the school where they work.
Special education candidates must complete all the basic requirements of other teachers, as well as instruction in one of four areas — mild to moderate support needs; extensive support needs; deaf and hard of hearing, visual impairments; and early childhood special education — to earn a credential in that specialty.
Teachers moving to California must submit to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing their college transcripts and a copy of their out-of-state teaching license, as well as proof they have been fingerprinted.
To avoid taking unnecessary tests and training, the commission recommends that applicants submit their score on out-of-state basic skills tests and proof of two years or more of teaching experience.
Most applications are submitted to the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing online. It generally takes about 50 days for the commission to process applications, which are available on the commission’s website. Application fees vary depending on the document but generally are under $100 each.
A grassroots campaign recalled two members of the Orange Unified School District in an election that cost more than half a million dollars.
Legislation that would remove one of the last tests teachers are required to take to earn a credential in California passed the Senate Education Committee.
Part-time instructors, many who work for decades off the tenure track and at a lower pay rate, have been called “apprentices to nowhere.”
A bill to mandate use of the method will not advance in the Legislature this year in the face of teachers union opposition.
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KC 1 week ago1 week ago
Can you tell me what your recommendation is on getting the skills for the substitute teaching program? I see the CBEST test as in indicator but if you have any other recommendations let me know. I have mentored kids for many years and I am constantly told I should at least substitute teach since I reach kids fro all ages and backgrounds pretty well. I figured at least I can help. … Read More
Can you tell me what your recommendation is on getting the skills for the substitute teaching program? I see the CBEST test as in indicator but if you have any other recommendations let me know. I have mentored kids for many years and I am constantly told I should at least substitute teach since I reach kids fro all ages and backgrounds pretty well. I figured at least I can help. Teaching is really a tough job these days.
JOCELYN PENA 10 months ago10 months ago
I have a permit to sub right now, and I am currently in school to get my MAT (master’s in teaching) but I saw that the CSET has been waived. Do I qualify for this and what another test do I need to take? I’m trying to understand if I still need to take it if I want to teach elementary which is a multiple subject.
Harry Edwards 1 year ago1 year ago
Do you need certification to teach if you nave a master’s?
Maria 2 years ago2 years ago
Thank you for this article, great info.
Martin Blythe 2 years ago2 years ago
These are all helpful changes – especially the teacher residency program, the stipends and academic credit in place of CSETs – but the process is still far too onerous. It actually gets worse after you start teaching, with the performance assessments and induction programs in your first year or two as you try to keep your head above water. Then there’s the 5-year time limit or you’re out. It’s the perfect mousetrap.
Replies
Allison 2 years ago2 years ago
I00% agree.