The alternative teacher certification procedures and professional development opportunities available to secondary academic and career and technical education (CTE) teachers were examined. The main data collection activities were as follows: (1) a literature review; (2) analysis of data on alternative teacher certification procedures in 36 states; (3) survey of 2,091 CTE teachers in 28 states; and (4) interviews with 14 survey respondents. Of the 632 survey respondents, 59% had completed all their teacher certification requirements when they began teaching. More than half of the agriculture, health careers, and trade and industrial teachers reported that they had not completed all their teacher certification requirements by the time they began teaching. Many of the new teachers reported needing ongoing help with curriculum, teaching methods, classroom management, and personal support. They also valued the availability of classroom observation opportunities and workshops and release time to take advantage of them. The study recommendations included calls for further research to examine the relationship between traditional versus alternative teacher certification and student achievement, and to identify the relative impacts of traditional and alternative certification on CTE teachers' success. (Twenty-seven tables are included. The bibliography lists 39 references. The various survey instruments and tables detailing the responses to them are presented in 16 appendixes.) (MN)