The shortage of qualified teachers has become a growing concern across the United States. Teacher licensure reciprocity policies vary among all states and licensure types. The impact of these policies on recruiting qualified teachers is not yet fully understood. This study aimed to explore the relationship between teacher licensure reciprocity…

Introduction: This study reviews state certification requirements for teachers of students with visual impairments (TVIs). Method: TVI certification criteria were systematically reviewed and coded from 55 states and territories. Fifteen variables captured a broad overview of criteria including license and endorsement data (i.e., terminology, grade…

Legislation based on the Science of Reading has spurred changes in teacher preparation and K-12 schools. Texas, a frequent leader in educational policy, adopted its own Science of Teaching Reading (STR) Framework with a focus on scientifically based instructional practices. Adoption of these standards is intended to improve methods of teaching…

This narrative case study focuses on one state's (Georgia) interaction with and eventual rejection of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), which led to the development of the Georgia Standards of Excellence for Science (GSES). We believe that the evolution of policy development, such as standards, should be a concern for all science…

Licensure tests should be an efficient and comprehensive way for policymakers to ensure that all teachers possess the basic knowledge and skills they need to effectively teach students to read. Yet more than half of states use a weak licensure test that fails to adequately measure elementary teachers' knowledge of scientifically-based reading…

The 2015 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act placed a 1.0% cap on the participation of students with disabilities in the alternate assessment based on alternate academic achievement standards (AA-AAAS). U.S. Department of Education regulations clarified that states must develop participation guidelines and a definition of…

The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network's (GLSEN) research has demonstrated that LGBTQ students who attend schools with instruction that is inclusive of LGBTQ people, history, and events experience a better school climate and improved academic outcomes. We also know from the experiences of students, educators and advocates (as well as what…

This study examines two longstanding but thinly evidenced claims regarding credentialing requirements for teachers in the early grades (pre-K, K, 1, 2, and 3): 1) that elementary education (ELED) educator standards, under which many U.S. early grade teachers are prepared, address early instructional practices less adequately than early childhood…

High-quality career and technical education (CTE) and work-based learning opportunities can support students along a pathway to credential attainment, employment and upward economic mobility through intentional skill development and experiential learning. CTE concentration in high school can increase graduation rates while helping students build…

Online credit recovery (OCR) allows US students at risk of dropping out of school to retake courses to meet graduation requirements and eventually graduate from high school. The problem addressed in this study is that despite participating in online English II credit recovery (ELA II OCR), students in a rural school district in North Florida still…

State summative assessments play an important role in measuring student learning and guiding educational improvement efforts, despite their limitations. But there is growing momentum in individual states and nationally to rethink these assessments with an eye toward reducing time spent on testing and increasing the tests' instructional relevance.…