Work group proposes suspending Praxis content tests for preparation-program graduates and easing edTPA requirement for alternate-route hires

At the Alabama State Board of Education work session, the teacher preparation and certification work group presented a set of recommendations intended to increase the number of certified teachers while preserving instructional quality.

Denise Peacock and members of the work group told the board the central goal is twofold: increase the quantity of certified educators available to school systems and retain a level of quality for new teachers. Key recommendations presented were:

- Suspend the Praxis content knowledge assessment for individuals who complete an Alabama-approved educator preparation program in a teaching field (the department’s slides treated this suspension as statewide across teaching fields). Staff said edTPA (the performance portfolio) would remain a requirement for candidates from preparation programs.

- For early-childhood P–3, elementary K–6 and collaborative special-education K–6 candidates, continue to require the foundations-of-reading assessment (mandated by the state literacy law) and edTPA as part of preparation-program requirements.

- For individuals seeking certification through an alternate route (for example, a provisional hire with a bachelor’s degree in another field who will teach while completing credentialing), require verification of content knowledge by one of two options: passing the Praxis content test or an official transcript showing an academic major or equivalent in the teaching field. The work group recommended not requiring edTPA or the PLT for alternate-route candidates who serve as the teacher of record during their provisional period and complete at least one year of supervised classroom teaching.

Work group co-chairs and several superintendents and higher-education deans explained the rationale: many institutions deliver course sequences that cover subject matter, and alternate-route candidates gain pedagogy experience while serving as classroom teachers under mentor supervision. Several higher-education deans objected to any steps that would lower quality, citing program rigor and field hours; deans and K–12 leaders said the group’s recommendations aim to balance quality with the need to expand the pool of available teachers.

Superintendent Shavon Smiley of Perry County described shortages in rural districts and urged the board to act: "In August, the teacher shortage really hit us ... we did not have teachers at all," she said, describing multiple long-term vacancies the district had to cover without certified teachers.

Deans noted Praxis has been a barrier for some candidates who otherwise complete degree requirements; one dean told the board the state knows of “two to three hundred students” who might enter the teacher pool if Praxis were not blocking certification.

Staff described next steps: the department plans to present administrative rule language at the next board meeting and discussed using the agency’s permanent-rule timeline together with an emergency rule so changes could apply to candidates for the coming academic year. The board did not take a vote at the work session.

Ending: Staff said they will return with proposed rule language, outreach materials for higher-education partners and districts, and recommended timelines for adoption and implementation.