Licensure Advancement : Maryland
Identifying Effective Teachers Policy
Analysis of Maryland's policies
Maryland's requirements for licensure advancement and renewal are not based on evidence of teacher effectiveness.
Maryland offers four types of teacher certifications. The Professional Eligibility Certificate is issued to teachers not currently employed in the state. The Standard Professional Certificate I (SPC I) is issued to those already employed by a local school system. To advance to the Standard Professional Certificate II (SPC II), teachers must complete the SPC I, have three years of "satisfactory professional experience," six semester hours of credit and a professional development plan for the Advanced Professional Certificate (APC). To advance to the APC, teachers must have three years' full-time, school-related experience; six semester hours of credit; and either a master's degree or a minimum of 36 semester hours of post-baccalaureate coursework. It appears that there are renewal restrictions on the first three certifications, ultimately requiring teachers to advance to the APC.
Maryland does not include effectiveness as a factor in the renewal of a professional license. Maryland teachers must renew their professional or standard licenses every five years by completing six semester hours of acceptable credit at an accredited institution of higher learning.
Recommendations for Maryland
Require evidence of effectiveness for licensure decisions.
Maryland commendably connects its strong evaluation system (see Goal 3-B) to licensure advancement. However, states must consider carefully how to use this evidence, as the standard for denying licensure—the right to practice in the state—should not necessarily be the same standard that might result in termination from a particular position. Further, the state should also factor evaluation evidence into decisions about license renewal.
Discontinue license requirements with no direct connection to classroom effectiveness.
While targeted requirements may potentially expand teacher knowledge and improve teacher practice, Maryland'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 requirement tying teacher advancement to master's degrees.
Maryland should remove its mandate that teachers obtain a master's degree for any level of 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
Maryland recognized the factual accuracy of this analysis. The state added that Maryland regulation delineates the requirements for advancement from one certificate level to the next. Earned credits must be related to the teacher's assignment, and to advance from the Standard Professional Certificate I to a Standard Professional Certificate II, the local school system must present verification of a minimum of three years of satisfactory school-related experience, in addition to coursework requirements. This experience requirement must also be fulfilled to progress to the Advanced Professional Certificate.
Maryland also noted that teachers are required to complete a professional development plan in agreement with the local superintendent of schools. All teachers are expected to engage in ongoing professional development through in-service, undergraduate or graduate coursework. This coursework must be tailored to the instructional needs of the teacher though school system collaboration that facilitates individualization. Thus, the requirement for continuous learning involves more than "seat time" and absolutely does not require an advanced degree.
Finally, if recommendations of the Certification Structure Workgroup are approved, a two-tiered licensure/certification structure would incorporate the performance of teachers into its implementation, including evidence of PK-12 student growth.
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Maryland
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Delivering Well Prepared Teachers
- Admission into Preparation Programs
- Elementary Teacher Preparation
- Elementary Teacher Preparation in Reading Instruction
- Elementary Teacher Preparation in Mathematics
- Middle School Teacher Preparation
- Secondary Teacher Preparation
- Secondary Teacher Preparation in Science
- Secondary Teacher Preparation in Social Studies
- Special Education Teacher Preparation
- Assessing Professional Knowledge
- Student Teaching
- Teacher Preparation Program Accountability
Expanding the Pool of Teachers
Identifying Effective Teachers
- State Data Systems
- Evaluation of Effectiveness
- Frequency of Evaluations
- Tenure
- Licensure Advancement
- Equitable Distribution
Retaining Effective Teachers
Exiting Ineffective Teachers
Research rationale
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.