Alternative Routes to Certification in Special Education:
Meeting the “Highly Qualified Teacher” Mandate of No Child Left Behind and IDEA

A Forum — February 27, 2004

Background

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) requires that all teachers be highly qualified by 2005-2006 and the reauthorized version of the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) will likely have comparable requirements. At the same time that the requirements for teachers become more stringent, there is a serious and sustained shortage of highly qualified special education teachers. The policies encourage the use of alternative certification to remedy this shortage; however there is very little data on this approach. To learn more about it, the Center on Personnel Studies in Special Education (COPSSE) conducted a study on alternative certification. At this forum, panelists discussed the results of the study, Alternative Routes to Certification in Special Education, and their experiences attracting and retaining qualified special education teachers.

Forum Summary

Paul Sindelar, Professor and Director of COPSSE, spoke about the center and its research. COPPSE is a partnership between Johns Hopkins and the University of Florida that conducts research on the supply, demand, preparation, and certification of special education teachers and service providers. They offer accessible reports, studies, and syntheses of research for policymakers. These resources are available on the COPSSE website at www.copsse.org. COPSSE’s most recent study on alternative certification found that there are now over 175 alternative certification programs in 33 states and the District of Columbia and these programs have already had a substantial impact on the certification of special education teachers. Fifteen percent of practicing teachers have completed alternative routes to certification (ARC) training, and 24% of “less than fully certified” teachers are now participating in ARC training to meet the law’s requirements. There are several reasons that ARCs are growing: a persistent and growing shortage of special education teachers, an inadequate supply of teachers from traditional preparation programs, a desire to attract more ethnic minority teachers, and a general erosion of trust in traditional teacher preparation programs.

Based on an economic analysis of teacher preparation options, Sindelar recommended that ARC programs be designed to tap into new pools of potential candidates for teaching positions. Cost effectiveness of alternative certification programs varies with the proportion of program graduates who remain in teaching. In addition, to attract candidates, programs should: help them defray income lost during training since these candidates often have expenses that many traditional candidates do not have; recruit and train candidates locally since beginning teachers are more likely to remain in a job where they live and were educated themselves; and avoid risky clientele, such as career changers whose previous jobs paid substantially more than they will make as teachers and who come from fields very different from education.

The COPSSE survey of the research also found that effective ARC programs can produce teachers who often are as competent as graduates of traditional teacher education programs. Effective ARC programs share several characteristics: collaboration among key stakeholders; adequate length; substantial, rigorous, and coherent content; and meaningful and frequent observation and mentoring.

Based on these and others findings, Sindelar offered policy recommendations about effective alternative certification programs: (1) state education agencies should avoid over-reliance on fast track programs which move candidates quickly into the classroom since attrition rates are very high; (2) programs for career changers such as paraprofessionals who are already working in schools and hold good promise should be considered; and (3) programs should recruit and train candidates locally.

Sindelar also presented some recommendations for the reauthorization of IDEA: realize that ARC programs can be effective and play a role in meeting the highly qualified teacher mandate; in judging program effectiveness, consider all important outcomes, including graduates’ competence, student outcomes, costs (lowering costs is desirable only if retention rates are sustained), and retention; and eliminate the certification through testing provision that is currently in one version of the bill.

William Fink, Director of Exceptional Student Education in the Volusia County Public School District in Florida, presented a local perspective on the national problem of attracting and retaining highly qualified special education teachers. Volusia County is a high poverty, high achieving district. There are, he said, certain essential components of quality special education programs: teachers with expertise, favorable teacher-to-student ratios to ensure that students become engaged in the curriculum, and modifications and accommodations to make sure that students can access the curriculum.

When hiring special education teachers, his district looks for expertise in specific areas. For instance, teachers must know and demonstrate classroom and behavioral management and have skills in adapting curriculum and using adaptive and assistive technology. He has learned that this knowledge and skills cannot be acquired solely through coursework nor can their acquisition be demonstrated through tests.

According to Fink, highly qualified special education teachers are the most difficult type of teacher to recruit and retain. Over a three-year period, for example, 52% of high school teachers working with children who have mild to moderate disabilities leave their positions. He identified several strategies that can be used to help ensure that teachers are highly qualified: require certification that involves rigorous training, professional dedication, on-the-job experience, and thorough evaluation; readdress the issue of requiring certification in both special education and core subject areas; develop criteria for highly qualified teachers that are nationally uniform and based on competencies to ensure that there is no circumvention of the law that would allow redefinition of certification requirements; develop and fund policies that encourage innovative collaboration between universities and local school systems; and provide financial incentives for highly qualified teachers. Lastly Fink recommended not accepting the test-and-certify method as an avenue for becoming highly qualified because, in the experience of Volusia County Public Schools, it does not ensure competence.

Eric Carlton, a doctoral student who received his Master’s degree in special education at Johns Hopkins University, a former special education teacher, and President of Banner Schools (a company that runs alternative and therapeutic programs for students with disabilities) spoke about his experiences in the Hopkins program. Carlton said the program has several characteristics that make it a very effective means of developing highly qualified individuals who are prepared to work in the field of special education and that policymakers should keep these characteristics in mind as they develop programs. Carlton said Hopkins promotes collaboration between school systems and the university and offers a relatively long program with two years of coursework and one year of teaching experience. Students are provided frequent mentoring and feedback from program and school personnel. There is a focus on instructional delivery and the supports needed to promote student learning and the program emphasizes the importance of attracting and training minority teachers who can serve as role models in the classroom.  

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