This book argues that the current process for teacher licensing does not always guarantee competence in the classroom, and it offers advice on how to prepare and evaluate aspiring teachers for the challenges of their profession. It places Minnesota's experience in the context of current reform efforts and suggests that developing and requiring a meaningful license to teach will be crucial for ensuring that teachers have the necessary knowledge for 21st-Century schools. The eight chapters are as follows: (1) "Licensing Teachers: The Need for Change"; (2) "What Teachers Need to Know and Be Able to Do"; (3) "The Need for New Assessments in Teaching"; (4) "New Assessment Strategies in Teaching"; (5) "An Architecture for a Licensing System"; (6) "Developing Prototype Assessments for Licensing"; (7) "The Internship"; and (8) "Implementation Concerns." The six appendixes contain Minnesota's Vision for Teacher Education; Model Standards for Beginning Teacher Licensing and Development--Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium; Minnesota Licensure Standards for Teachers of English and Language Arts Sample Questions for an Examination of Teaching Knowledge; Secondary English-Language Arts Performance Assessment; and Code of Ethics for Minnesota Teachers. (SM)