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Licensure Advancement : Michigan

Identifying Effective Teachers Policy

Look at National Findings
Goal

The state should base licensure advancement on evidence of teacher effectiveness.

Does not meet goal
Suggested Citation:
National Council on Teacher Quality. (2011). Licensure Advancement : Michigan results. State Teacher Policy Database. [Data set].
Retrieved from: https://www.nctq.org/yearbook/state/MI-Licensure-Advancement--8

Analysis of Michigan's policies

Michigan's requirements for licensure advancement and renewal are not based on evidence of teacher effectiveness. 

To advance from a Provisional Certificate (valid for up to six years) to a Professional Education Certificate, teachers are required to complete 18 semester hours in a planned course of study after the issuance of the Provisional Certificate or completion of a master's degree or National Board certification, complete Michigan's reading requirement (six semester hours of teaching reading for elementary teachers or three semester hours for secondary teachers) and have three years of successful teaching experience. Michigan does not include evidence of effectiveness as a factor in the renewal of a professional license. Teachers must renew their licenses every five years by completing six semester hours or 18 State-Board certification education units, or a combination of the two.

Citation

Recommendations for Michigan

Require evidence of effectiveness as a part of teacher licensing policy.
Michigan should require evidence of teacher effectiveness to be a factor in determining whether teachers can renew their licenses or advance to a higher-level license. 

Discontinue license requirements with no direct connection to classroom effectiveness.
While targeted requirements—such as the state's requirement for training in teaching reading— may potentially expand teacher knowledge and improve teacher practice, Michigan's general, nonspecific coursework requirements for license advancement and renewal merely call for teachers to complete a certain amount of seat time. These requirements do not correlate with teacher effectiveness.

End policies that tie teacher advancement to master's degrees.
Michigan should modify any policies that encourage or require teachers to obtain a master's degree for license advancement. Research is conclusive and emphatic that master's degrees do not have any significant correlation to classroom performance. Rather, advancement should be based on evidence of teacher effectiveness. 

State response to our analysis

Michigan recognized the factual accuracy of this analysis. The state added that by the fall of 2012, pending state administrative rule approval, there will be a three-tiered teacher certification and licensure system that will make available a provisional, professional and advanced professional license. This is a comprehensive system where teacher and leader certifications and advancements will be informed by evaluation results.

Last word

NCTQ looks forward to reviewing the state's progress in future editions of the Yearbook. However, although the language in the proposed rules would allow for the revocation of licenses for teachers who receive unsatisfactory evaluation ratings, it appears that the superintendent does not intend to enforce this language. 

    • Best practice
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    • Does not meet goal

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Delivering Well Prepared Teachers
Expanding the Pool of Teachers
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Research rationale

For a meta-analysis of the research on the relationship between advanced degrees and teacher effectiveness, see Metin and Stevenson, "The Impact of Teachers' Advanced Degrees on Student Learning" which has been published as an appendix in Arizona's Race to the Top: What Will It Take to Compete? (NCTQ, 2009). 

Studies in the analysis include: Clotfelter, C. T., Ladd, H. F., & Vigdor, J. L. (2004) Teacher sorting, teacher shopping, and the assessment of teacher effectiveness. Clotfelter, C. T., Ladd, H. F., & Vigdor, J. L. (2006) Teacher-student matching and the assessment of teacher effectiveness. Retrieved May 20, 2009 from the National Bureau of Economic Research web site: http://www.nber.org/papers/w11936; Clotfelter, C. T. Ladd, H. F., & Vigdor, J. L. (2007) How and why do teacher credentials matter for student achievement? Ehrenberg, R. G., & Brewer, D. J. (1994) Do school and teacher characteristics matter? Evidence from high school and beyond. Economics of Education Review, 13, 1-17; Goldhaber, D., & Anthony, E. (2007) Can teacher quality be effectively assessed? National board certification as a signal of effective teaching. Review of Economics and Statistics, 89(1), 134-150; Goldhaber, D. D., & Brewer, D. J. (1997) Why don't schools and teachers seem to matter? Assessing the impact of unobservables on educational productivity. The Journal of Human Resources, 3, 505-523; Goldhaber, D. & Brewer, D. J. (2000) Does teacher certification matter? High school teacher certification status and student achievement. Educational and Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 22(2), 129-145; Hanushek, E. A., Kain, J. F., O'Brien, D. M., & Rivkin, S. G. (2005) The market for teacher quality. Retrieved May 20, 2009 from the National Bureau of Economic Research web site: http://www.nber.org/papers/w11154.pdf; Hanushek, E. A., Kain, J. F., & Rivkin, S. G. (1998) Teachers, schools, and academic achievement. Retrieved May 20, 2009 from the National Bureau of Economic Research web site:http://www.nber.org/papers/w6691.pdf; Harris, D. N., & Sass, T. R. (2006) Value-added models and the measurement of teacher quality. Harris, D. N., & Sass, T. R. (2007a) What makes for a good teacher and who can tell? Harris, D. N., & Sass, T. R. (2007b) Teacher training, teacher quality, and student achievement. Retrieved May 20, 2009 from the National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research web site: http://www.caldercenter.org/PDF/1001059_Teacher_Training.pdf; Harris, D. N., & Sass, T. R. (2008) The effects of NBPTS-certified teachers on student achievement. National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research; Jeptson, C. (2005) Teacher characteristics and student achievement: Evidence from teacher surveys. Journal of Urban Economics, 57,302-319; Monk, D. H. (1994) Subject area preparation of secondary mathematics and science teachers and student achievement. Economics of Educational Review, 13, 125-145; Riordan, J. (2006, April) Is there a relationship between No Child Left Behind indicators of teacher quality and the cognitive and social development of early elementary students? Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Education Research Association, San Francisco, CA; Schneider, B. L. (1985) Further evidence of school effects. Journal of Educational Research, 78, 351-356.

For evidence on the lack of correlation between education coursework and teacher effectiveness, see M.B. Allen, "Eight Questions on Teacher Preparation: What Does the Research Say?" Education Commission of the States, (2003) at: http://www.ecs.org/html/educationIssues/teachingquality/tpreport/home/summary.pdf.

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