Teacher Licensure and Certification

Beginning Teacher Licensure

INTASC, the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium, is a coalition of state education agencies, higher education institutions, and national educational organizations dedicated to the reform of the education, licensing, and ongoing professional development of teachers. Created in 1987, INTASC's primary constituency is state education officials responsible for teacher licensing, program approval, and professional development. Its work is guided by one basic premise: An effective teacher must be able to integrate content knowledge with pedagogical understanding to assure that all students learn and perform at high levels.

AACTE members and staff participate in the Consortium's work at many levels, including standards and assessment development, piloting new products, cosponsorship of academies, and other efforts linking teacher preparation with the states' joint licensure work.

Along with INTASC and Alverno College, AACTE is cosponsoring a series of summer academies for teacher educators and others interested in learning about the newly developed portfolio assessment system for beginning teachers in mathematics, science, and English / language arts. Please visit the INTASC Academies page for more information.

Advanced Teacher Certification

NBPTS, the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, is establishing standards for what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do and developing a system of advanced, voluntary certification for teachers in more than 30 certificate fields. NBPTS was established in 1987 following a recommendation from the report A Nation Prepared: Teachers for the 21st Century, released in 1986 by the Carnegie Corporation's Task Force on Teaching as a Profession.

Several teacher educators have served on the NBPTS board of directors, and AACTE collaborates with NBPTS on joint workshops and presentations, recommendations to standards committees and the board of directors, and review of draft standards.

Administrator Licensure

ICSL, the Interstate Consortium on School Leaders, is a consortium of states and associations formed for the purpose of developing model standards and assessments for school leaders. ICSL's primary constituency is the state education agencies responsible for administrator licensing. It includes representatives of state agencies/departments of education, professional standards boards, and the major educational leadership associations. ICSL has developed and published principles, standards, and indicators for school leaders, and Educational Testing Service has completed development of the accompanying assessment, already being used in many states.

AACTE members and staff contributed to these developments and strive to maintain a close connection between ICSL's efforts and AACTE members.