Guidance for State Leaders

First-time pathways into teaching sit in a unique place within education. If one of these pathways was a three-legged stool, one leg would be in PreK–12 education, another leg would be in higher education, and the last leg would be in the labor and workforce space. So it follows that, in many states, the development and oversight of pathways into teaching is similarly split: responsibility for overseeing teacher preparation may sit with one entity (e.g., higher education commission), and teacher credentialing in another (e.g., professional standards board), with neither under the purview of the state education agency responsible for PreK–12 education. This somewhat fractured ownership of pathways into teaching can make them challenging to develop, communicate, track, and analyze.

Recognizing that the state entities overseeing preparation and credentialing are often insufficiently staffed for the array of responsibilities they hold, we offer simpler, low-lift recommendations in each of these four areas, as well as some heavier, but potentially more impactful ones.