Back to School 2022: What to know about the changes to teacher certifications in Alabama

The Alabama State Department of Education recently made some changes to teacher certification standards.

The changes have brought on some concerns that teaching standards will be lowered, but Alabama State Superintendent Dr. Eric Mackey said that would not be the case.

Here’s what to know to get caught up.

So, what are the changes?

Most notably, would-be teachers who fail the Praxis exam within one standard error of deviation can still receive their teaching license, as long as their teaching field GPA is higher than the usual requirements: 2.75 rather than 2.5.

A couple of hundred teachers failed the Praxis within one standard error of measure between 2019 and 2021.

The other major change is that superintendents in districts with “extraordinary critical need” can potentially hire a would-be teacher with a Praxis score within two standard errors of measure, or around 10 points, according to Mackey.

“We will look at a waiver,” said Mackey. “If a superintendent says to us, ‘I simply cannot find anyone else, but I have this person who has a college degree in social studies, they have demonstrated they know the material, and I believe in this person.’”

This waiver — an emergency certificate — can only be renewed twice, meaning it can be active for only three years. After that, the emergency teacher would need to have received a teacher’s license or the superintendent will need to have found a new teacher.

MORE: Alabama streamlines special-education certification in bid to remedy teacher shortages

RELATED: Alabama Senate committee approves 'historic' raises for experienced teachers

How far back will my GPA and Praxis score be honored?

For GPA, Mackey said that there is no time limit.

The Praxis score is a little more complicated. Mackey said it would need to have been from the current version of the Praxis, but he did not give a specific year.

Will this lower standards for teaching certification?

Mackey insisted that will not happen.

He brought up the raised GPA needed for teachers to receive their certification. He also said principals are the safeguard and would be able to prevent any major issues with teachers, whether they received their licenses through these new pathways or the old standards.

“There's always a safety measure, and that's the principal,” said Mackey. “And, so, we even know now, we do have teachers on occasion to pass the Praxis with flying colors. They pass all their coursework, they pass the EdTPA and they get in the classroom, they can't hack it. And the principal says, ‘You know what, this is not a person, [a] high quality teacher, that I want in my building.’”

Mackey said these changes also should not affect the full reciprocity Alabama has with other states in terms of teacher certificates.

Alabama seems to be making a lot of changes to teaching this year. How’s that going?

The whole country has a teaching shortage at the moment. Alabama is included in that, and, as Mackey told the Advertiser previously, Alabama has had a teaching shortage longer than it’s had a global pandemic.

Earlier in the year, changes made emergency certifications available for special education. Also, the Alabama Legislature passed a major overhaul to the teaching pay schedule, meaning many teachers saw massive raises.

Mackey said that these changes are working.

“For the first time in a long time I'm getting more calls from superintendents saying, 'Hey, we don't have a true teacher shortage anymore,'” he said. “These measures are working. We're getting applicants for jobs. Now that being said, we still have parts of the state, particularly the rural Black Belt, where there is still a shortage, and I would even say there's still a crisis, because they simply have economic challenges.”

I think I qualify for my teaching license under these changes. What do I do?

Mackey said if you think you qualify, you should reach out to the university or college where you received your degree for the next steps.

Jemma Stephenson is the children and education reporter for the Montgomery Advertiser. She can be reached at jstephenson@gannett.com or 334-261-1569.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: What to know about the changes to teacher certifications in Alabama