One of These Things is Not Like the Others...
Most professions follow a standard path to licensure, where aspiring entrants throughout the country must pass the same rigorous final exam
to begin their careers. Why isn’t this the case for K-12 teachers? In order to professionalize teaching, we should require a linear path into the
profession that enforces a high bar for entry and ensures that those who teach future generations are prepared on day one.
Architect
Multistate
Bar Exam
Architect
Registration
Exam
Law
School
Civil Engineer
Principles and
Practice of
Engineering
Exam (PE)
Intern
Development
Program
Engineer
Intern/in Training
Doctor of
Architecture
Fundamentals
of Engineering
Exam (FE)
(optional)
(min. 4 years)
LSAT
Master of
Architecture
(optional)
Bachelor’s
Degree
Bachelor of
Architecture
Master of
Engineering
Registered Nurse
National Council
Licensure
ExaminationRegistered Nurse
Clinical Experience
American Board
of Medical
Specialties
Certification
Clinical
Residency
U.S. Medical Licensing
Exam 3
Teacher
Teacher Licensure
Performance
Assessment
Master of
Nursing
Required
in 7 states
Pedagogical
Skill Exam
Emergency Credentials
(can teach while trying to pass
licensure exams)
and/or
Required
in 24 states
and/or
• 14 states allow up to 1 year
• 8 states allow up to 2 years
• 22 states allow up to 3 years
Content Subject Required
in 44 states
Assessment
Medical School
U.S. Medical Licensing
Exams 1 & 2
Alternative Certification
and/or
Basic Skills
Exam*
Required
in 42 states
(optional)
Master of
Education
Master of
any subject
Bachelor of
Education
Bachelor of
any subject
MCAT
(required in 2020)
Bachelor of
Engineering
Doctor
Standardized Barrier
to Profession
Lawyer
Associate or
Bachelor of
Nursing
Bachelor’s
Degree
* 26 states use basic skills tests for admissions to teacher prep programs. 14 states use these tests, which typically test middle school level skills, at the
completion of teacher preparation to confer taching licenses. Another 8 states do not require basic skills testing at all. (NCTQ State Policy Yearbook 2013).
For more, read the Third Way memo “Teaching: The Next Generation,” available at: http://www.thirdway.org/publications/811.
© 2014 Third Way. Free for re-use with attribution/link. Concept by Tamara Hiler and Lanae Erickson Hatalsky. Infographic by Clare Jackson.