Teaching in the USA

Teaching in the USA
Most of the information in this leaflet (provided by the Fulbright Commission) is aimed at
American nationals who wish to return to America to teach after graduation.
See pages 5-6 for qualification guidelines for Non-US citizens.
US SCHOOL SYSTEM AT A GLANCE – AN INTRODUCTION
The requirements to become a teacher in the United States vary from state to state. Each state
determines requirements for licensing and certifying teachers and is also responsible for the recruitment
of teachers, not the US Department of Education. Information may be obtained by contacting the
department of education in the state in which the individual would like to teach. There is no National
Curriculum for US school children. US Grade levels and school types are also different from those in the
UK.
Contact information for state education agencies, as well as additional information about teaching, state
requirements, and alternative routes to certification can be found at http://www.teach.org
Additional information about teaching, becoming a teacher and related resources is available on
http://www.ed.gov/teachers/become/programs/edpicks.jhtml.
Grade Levels
Schools in the US are divided into grade levels, generally are based upon how old the students are. In
most cases, in autumn of the year in which they are age five, students enrol in kindergarten. From there,
they advance a grade each year, proceeding from grade one up to grade twelve.
The twelve grade levels are grouped into units of elementary/primary, middle and secondary. In most
states, prospective teachers become certified to teach one of these three levels, but it is possible to gain
middle and secondary school certification, or primary and middle school certification, at the same time.
TYPES OF US SCHOOL
Public Schools: At US public schools, students’ education is free. Public schools are run by state
governments, and each state is divided into school districts at the local level. While the state board
defines certification requirements for teaching, the school district or the school itself hires teachers.
Private Schools: Students must pay to attend US private schools. As private schools are not under the
state government’s control, they do not need to follow the state’s certification requirements. Therefore,
private schools are allowed to hire non-certified teachers. See more about this in the “How to Get a
Teaching Job without being Certified” section of this handout.
Generally, private school teachers are paid less than those in public schools but classes are usually
smaller. Teachers also may have more control over lesson plans.
There are other types of schools prospective teachers may consider, such as parochial schools, overseen
by a local parish, teaching religious studies in addition to a secular curriculum. Charter schools are
independently-run public schools governed by a public board of trustees.
Teach for America is a two-year program that places college graduates in to poor performing schools to
teach. http://www.teachforamerica.org.
THE STATE EDUCATION BOARDS
While the federal government ultimately does control education policy, considerable autonomy is given
to the individual states. Therefore, it is the government of an individual US state that oversees teaching
qualifications as well as many curriculum issues. To find out about certification qualifications for a
specific state, contact the individual state’s board of education. These boards oversee certification for
public school teachers, but not for private school teachers (although many private school teachers are
certified). Therefore, the information that follows regards how to attain certification to teach at a US
public school.
Prospective teachers must have certification from the state where they will be teaching, but
approximately 40 states and Washington D.C. currently have a reciprocity agreement that allows
certification in one state to count in other states as well. Transfers to some states are provisional,
meaning that teachers will need to complete extra requirements to come in line with that state’s
standards while they are starting their job.
CERTIFICATION AT A GLANCE
Although certification does vary from state to state, there are some requirements that are consistent for
all states. To become certified, teachers must have:
A.
B.
C.
D.
A Bachelor’s degree from a four-year college (not necessarily with a major in education)
Completed an accredited teacher training programme
Taken a certain number of subject and education credits
Done some practice teaching ("student teaching” is usually a component of certification
programmes)
Many states require prospective teachers to take an exam or a series of exams. Information both on
testing and the above requirements is detailed in the following section. Some also require all prospective
teachers in that state to take a course in a designated subject area, ranging from Native American
cultural education to the US Constitution.
Prospective teachers must complete an application for certification, which is available from the state
department of education. The processing fee for completed forms can be around $100.
Please note that there are some ways for people who have not filled all of the above certification
requirements to get public school teaching jobs. See the “How to get a Teaching Job Without being
Certified” section of this handout.
Check out the Licensing and Certification requirements for each state on the Teach.org website:
https://www.teach.org/teaching-certification
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TEACHING EDUCATION - DEGREE PROGRAMMES FOR CERTIFICATION
In most cases, prospective teachers complete the above certification requirements by taking education
courses. These can be taken at the undergraduate or postgraduate level, and education programmes are
often tailored to provide certification in the state where the college is located.
Undergraduate Programmes
At some universities, "education" is an undergraduate major, at others, this is not so. In the latter case,
prospective teachers take education courses in addition to their academic major. Some undergraduate
institutions, allow students to declare an education major upon matriculation. At others, students
declare an education major or entry into a teacher preparation programme in their first, second or third
year. Often, entry into a teacher preparation programme is not automatic; applicants can be turned
down. Entrance often demands certain requirements that can include minimum test scores, prerequisite
academic courses and a minimum grade point average (with “grade point average” being a measure of
students’ academic performance).
In some states, students must take a fifth year of coursework to complete teacher certification
requirements. After receiving a Bachelor's degree at the end of the fourth year, students continue on for
an extra year at the same university to complete certification requirements.
Please note that not all US undergraduate institutions offer an education major or a teacher preparation
programme.
Postgraduate Programmes
Prospective teachers who did not take requisite education classes as part of their undergraduate degree
can attain certification by doing postgraduate coursework. Postgraduate teaching programmes are a
useful way to attain certification for mid-career changers and for those who did not complete education
coursework during their undergraduate years. Schools offer full time and/ or part time graduate
programmes. These programmes are known by names including post-baccalaureate, licensure,
certification or fifth-year programmes. Many postgraduate programmes are non-degree programmes;
they provide certification but no degree.
Other postgraduate programmes lead to certification and a master's degree. A master's degree is not
necessary to receive teaching certification. Most states, however, require teachers to participate in
continuing education activities to retain certification. Working towards a master's degree is one of many
ways to renew certification in some states. Teachers who have a master's in an education field usually
receive a higher salary and can move up to administrative positions. However, teachers with master’s
degrees sometimes can have a more difficult time finding a first job as some schools prefer to hire
teachers with less advanced training.
There are two types of master’s degrees relevant to teaching: the Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.)
and the Master of Science in Education (M.S.Ed). They are similar, but the M.S.Ed is broader in scope. In
addition to studying pedagogy, M.S.Ed candidates also can learn about educational policy and
administrative issues.
Other advanced degree programmes include the Doctor of Education (EdD), which focuses on curriculum
and instructional design and prepares students for advanced administrative positions; and the PhD,
which prepares students to conduct research, engage in evaluation and assessment and pursue teaching
education positions in higher education.
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Curriculum within a Teaching Education Programme
Teacher education programmes vary from state to state and also within each state. Most programmes,
however, emphasise the following areas:
A.
The liberal arts, with a focus in the curriculum area of speciality (more for undergraduate than
postgraduate programmes)
B. Pedagogy, or the study of how to teach
C. Field experience
Within an education programme, students usually specialise in the education level that they intend to
teach: elementary, middle, or secondary. Students also can concentrate in such areas as special
education, or specific subject areas, such as music, art or physical education.
Elementary Education: Prospective elementary teachers often can major solely in elementary education
and may not need to major in or gain expertise in a second subject area. Students on an elementary
education track take courses designed for teaching maths, physical science, social science, art, music and
literature as well as general education classes.
Secondary School Education: In addition to taking education courses, secondary school teachers usually
must complete a major in the subject area they wish to teach.
Factors to Consider when Choosing a Teaching School
The factors listed below are especially relevant when considering teaching schools:
A.
Location. As the majority of education programmes lead to certification in the state where the
college is located, it often is wise for students to study in the state where they intend to teach. Do note,
however, that reciprocity agreements between many states ease the challenge of finding a job in a state
other than where certification was earned.
B. Specifics of teacher education programme. Education curricula does vary greatly depending on the
institution, so prospective students should see if the offerings meet their interests. It also is wise to find
out about student teaching programmes. Most universities in rural areas will have partnerships with
rural schools; suburban universities with suburban schools; and urban universities with urban
schools. Therefore, prospective teachers might want to attend an education programme at a school in
an area similar to where they may want to teach.
C.
Accreditation. This is the system of recognition and quality assurance for US institutions and
programmes of higher education. Contact the state department of education to determine if a teaching
education programme in a particular state is accredited and offers valid certification.
TESTING
In most states, prospective teachers must take one or more exam to become certified. Teacher
education programmes often will help prepare students for necessary tests. The most commonly used
test is called The Praxis Series, which is administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS). Currently,
43 states require some sort of test and 35 of those 43 states require The Praxis Series.
Praxis is a series of three tests. The Praxis Series tests are taken at different times in the certification
process. They include the following material:
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Praxis I:
Praxis II:
Praxis III:
Academic Skills Assessments. This test measures general academic knowledge.
Subject Assessments. The version of this test that is taken varies depending on what subject
the student wants to teach. Praxis II combines multiple-choice questions and candidateconstructed responses to measure both breadth and depth of knowledge in a specific
subject matter.
Classroom Performance Assessments. This test combines essays, listening assessment, oral
response tasks, portfolio review, video stimuli and in-class observation.
Not every state requires certification candidates to take all of or the same combination of Praxis
tests. The type and number of tests taken also depends on the type of certification the student is
intending. Contact each state board of education to find out about required tests. The information is
also listed on the website, http://www.ets.org/praxis.
HOW TO GET A TEACHING JOB WITHOUT BEING CERTIFIED
Emergency Certification
In some states, there is a shortage of certified teachers. To make sure that there are enough teachers to
fill classrooms, some states will offer emergency certification to prospective teachers who have not met
the state's minimum certification requirements. These teachers are granted an emergency certification
certificate under the stipulation that, in addition to their teaching duties, they must be taking relevant
educational coursework to receive official certification.
These alternative licensing schemes are especially common for teachers of maths, science, special
education and bilingual education, subject areas in which the supply of qualified teachers traditionally
does not meet the demand. Emergency certification also is common in high-need geographic areas, such
as urban locations.
Private Schools
Private schools generally do not require teachers to be licensed by the state, so that is a route that many
prospective teachers who do not have formal education training take to find a job.
QUALIFICATION FOR FOREIGN-EDUCATED TEACHERS
Guidelines for certification for foreign-educated teachers vary from state to state. Generally, foreigneducated teachers will need to have completed the equivalent of both a US undergraduate degree and a
teacher preparation programme that meets the standards of the state in which they intend to teach.
Generally, applications from foreign-educated teachers must be accompanied by a credential evaluation
report. This report explains foreign credentials and is written by an outside organisation for a small
fee. Oftentimes, states only accept reports from designated credential evaluators.
If prospective teachers do not meet the state's minimum certification requirements, they can do
additional coursework to come in line with a specific state's standards. Even if foreign-educated
teachers meet a state’s minimum requirements and need no further coursework, they likely will need to
take a test if that state requires testing as part of its certification.
Non-US citizens will need to obtain a visa from their home country's embassy to teach in the US. Contact
the US Embassy for more information, or visit www.usembassy.org.uk.
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Read ‘Become a teacher (for a non-citizen)’:
https://answers.ed.gov/link/portal/28022/28025/Article/615/Become-a-teacher-for-a-non-citizen
The TES Connect website has hundreds of teaching jobs in America listed, covering both North and South
America. Some US states are short of teachers and welcome those from other countries. It also has
advice on what it’s like to teach in America and how to get a US work permit.
PGCE-Trained Applicants
Prospective teachers who have completed the British PGCE, like other applicants with foreign-training,
generally need to obtain a credential evaluation report before finding out from a state if British
credentials meet its requirements. In general, credential evaluators equate a one-year PGCE course as
the equivalent of an undergraduate major in education, although the state boards of education do have
the final say. British-educated applicants who have completed an undergraduate teaching programme
as well as the one-year PGCE course generally are looked at as having one year of graduate standing as
well as the undergraduate standing. In addition to submitting PGCE and university transcripts, Britisheducated students also should send A-level results to credential evaluators.
FINDING A TEACHING JOB
There is no centralised national job listing regarding teaching vacancies. State department websites are
the best place to search.
Hiring at Public Schools
Some state departments of education do have a placement bureau, but hiring often is done at the school
district level. Individual schools are responsible for hiring teachers in some states.
There are some teacher placement agencies that assist qualified teachers find jobs for a fee. Some
placement agencies only will serve foreign nationals who already have a US work permit. The National
Association of Teachers’ Agencies (NATA) maintains a free list of teacher placement agencies at the
website, www.jobsforteachers.com. The internet has a host of websites that list education job posts
throughout the nation but allow job-seekers to search by state. Three of these sites are Education Jobs
Page, National Teacher Recruitment Clearinghouse and Teachers-Teachers.com.
Hiring at Private Schools
The National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) can provide information on how to find a private
school teaching position. For the most part, prospective teachers will apply to each school
directly. There also are some placement agencies that assist private school job-seekers, one of which is
www.carneysandoe.org.
Short-Term Work
Foreign-educated teachers might want to participate in an exchange programme that allows for shortterm teaching placements in a US school (eg VIF Program, Fulbright UK/US Teacher Exchange).
http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storyCode=6013874
Fulbright Commission
http://www.fulbright.org.uk/
October 2014
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