Part-Time Teaching Licenses: Kentucky
Expanding the Pool of Teachers Policy
Analysis of Kentucky's policies
Kentucky offers the Adjunct Instructor certificate as a
part-time license.
Candidates in the Adjunct Instructor Certification program must have either a
bachelor's or a master's degree with a minimum GPA of 2.5, or 3.0 in the last 60
hours of coursework. Elementary applicants must have at least a minor in child
development or a related area. Secondary applicants must have a major in their
intended teaching field. Candidates are not required to pass a subject-matter
exam.
The employing district must provide an orientation program for the adjunct
instructor that provides information about student safety, policies and
procedures and pedagogical assistance.
Recommendations for Kentucky
Require applicants to pass a subject-matter test.
Kentucky should consider requiring all applicants to pass a content knowledge
test. Applicants for the Adjunct Instructor certificate should be experts in
the area they plan to teach and therefore should be able to demonstrate this on
an exam. Even with a minimum GPA and a major requirement, it is unlikely that a
bachelor's degree is sufficient evidence of expertise in a field. A
subject-matter exam serves as an important safeguard; teachers without
sufficient content knowledge place students at risk.
State response to our analysis
Kentucky recognized the factual accuracy of this analysis.
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Kentucky
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Delivering Well Prepared Teachers
- Admission into Teacher Preparation
- Elementary Teacher Preparation
- Elementary Teacher Preparation in Reading Instruction
- Elementary Teacher Preparation in Mathematics
- Early Childhood
- Middle School Teacher Preparation
- Secondary Teacher Preparation
- Secondary Teacher Preparation in Science and Social Studies
- Special Education Teacher Preparation
- Special Education Preparation in Reading
- 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
Pensions
Research rationale
Part-time licenses
can help alleviate severe shortages, especially in STEM subjects.
Some of the subject areas in which states face the greatest
teacher shortages are also areas that require the deepest subject-matter
expertise. Staffing shortages are
further exacerbated because schools or districts may not have high enough
enrollments to necessitate full-time positions.
Part-time licenses can be a creative mechanism to get content experts to
teach a limited number of courses. Of
course, a fully licensed teacher is best, but when that isn't an option, a
part-time license allows students to benefit from content experts—individuals
who are not interested in a full-time teaching position and are thus unlikely to
pursue traditional or alternative certification. States should limit requirements for part-time licenses to
those that verify subject-matter knowledge and address public safety, such as
background checks.
Part-Time Teaching Licenses: Supporting Research
The origin of this goal is the effort to find
creative solutions to the STEM crisis. While teaching waivers are not typically
used this way, teaching waivers could be used to allow competent
professionals from outside of education to be hired as part-time instructors to
teach courses such as Advanced Placement chemistry or calculus as long as the
instructor demonstrates content knowledge on a rigorous test. See NCTQ, "Tackling the STEM Crisis: Five steps your state can take to improve the quality and quantity of its K-12 math and science teachers", at: http://www.nctq.org/p/docs/nctq_nmsi_stem_initiative.pdf.
For
the importance of teachers' general academic ability, see R. Ferguson,
"Paying for Public Education: New Evidence on How and Why Money
Matters," Harvard Journal on Legislation,Volume 28, Summer 1991, pp. 465-498.
For
more on math and science content knowledge, see D. Monk, "Subject Area Preparation of Secondary Mathematics and Science Teachers and Student Achievement," Economics of Education Review, Volume 13, No. 2, June 1994, pp. 125-145; R. Murnane, "Understanding the Sources of Teaching Competence: Choices, Skills, and the Limits of Training," Teachers
College Record, Volume 84, No. 3, 1983, pp. 564-569.