I just read this article from Education Week: You're More Likely to Pass the Bar Than an Elementary Teacher Licensing Exam.
There is a LOT in this article worth thinking about...but this jumped out at me: "Just 46 percent of teacher candidates pass the test on their first attempt—that's lower than the first-time pass rates for doctors, nuclear engineers, and lawyers on their licensing exams. In fact, the only lower initial pass rate is the multi-part exam for certified public accountants."
Whoa.
Now, the teacher preparation program in which I serve far outstrips that 46% number. I honestly don't know what the first-time pass rate is, but I'm confident in saying it's well over 90%. Our teacher candidates are very, very well prepared in terms of both their content knowledge (knowing what to teach) as well as pedagogical knowledge (knowing how to teach.) I think they are also very well prepared in terms of understanding the joys and challenges of the teaching profession--it ain't easy out there in the classroom--and they have lots of opportunities to develop professional dispositions that will make them effective classroom teachers.
But I'm thinking about licensure exams right now, and thinking about the professional demands on teachers today.
I understand why States require licensure exams. I mean, I know and love my students, and I definitely think they are going to be great in the classroom. But maybe my vision is clouded, because I know and love them? So a licensure exam is a way to validate their competence to teach externally. It's a way of confirming that they do have the content and pedagogical knowledge to be effective as classroom teachers. And so it makes some sense to me that some external validation is valuable before granting a license.
But I'm sitting here and thinking about this from different perspectives.
As a parent, you bet I want my kids' teachers to have that content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge. I want great teachers for my kids, after all!
As a taxpayer, I want to know that my tax dollars designated for education are going to fund schools where great teaching is happening.
As a professor who serves future teachers, I want to know that my students really do have that content and pedagogical knowledge that will make them effective in the classroom.
As a teacher, I know I would have been anxious about taking such a test, but I suppose I can understand it--I mean, most professions have some sort of formal approval for licensure.
But I'm also thinking about this: I know that the pay scale for teachers is nothing like the pay scale for the other jobs listed in this article. I mean, we want professional teachers with professional attitudes and dispositions, and the knowledge and skills to be effective in helping students learn, right? And, yes, an external validation such as through a licensing exam is a way to try and ensure this is the case.
However...
Look at the rest of the jobs in that list in the quote I included above: doctors, engineers, lawyers, accountants.
Yes, I definitely want my doctor to have a license! They better have the knowledge and skills needed to prescribe medication or wield a scalpel.
Yes, I definitely want engineers to have a license! If they are building bridges, or buildings, or nuclear reactors, they better have the knowledge and skills needed to ensure public safety.
Yes, I definitely want lawyers to have a license! With the complexities of the legal system, and the importance of representing clients rights, they better have the knowledge and skills to do so responsibly.
Yes, I definitely want accountants to have a license! Working with other peoples' money ought to be done with care and respect, and they better have the knowledge and skills to do so ethically.
And, yes, I definitely want teachers to have a license too. Absolutely! We're talking about the education of children and young people here. I believe that we want the best people doing this! (I suspect you do too.)
Let's be clear about this: teachers don't get into the profession for the money, despite what you might sometimes hear in the media or from a politician if teachers are on strike. But if you compare the earning power of a teacher versus a doctor, an engineer, a lawyer, or an accountant...well, it's just not really much of a comparison. I know, I know... there is more specialized training required for many of these professions. I know, I know... no one is making people become teachers--and they could choose a more lucrative profession if they wanted to do so.
But let's be straight about this: for someone required to have a license that demonstrates their professional status, including validation of their knowledge and skill by some external assessment, paying them a more appropriate wage for their professional status is something we as a society have to talk about.
What do you think? Are K-12 teachers fairly compensated for their professional expertise? Or could this be the reason fewer college students in the United States are opting to become teachers?
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| Image via Pixabay [public domain] |
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