Resource Title:
Mitigating Teacher Shortages: Alternative Teacher Certification

See our 2022 report on State Policy Levers to Address Teacher Shortages, which includes more recent examples, by clicking here.

To explore specific state strategies for addressing shortages, see this brief or any of the others from our 2016 series:

1. 1. Alternative certification
   2. Financial Incentives
   3. Induction and mentorship
   4. Evaluation and feedback 
   5. Teacher leadership 

Providing alternative routes to teacher certification is an approach to recruit and retain teachers. A definition of alternative teacher certification is provided, followed by a summary of the research on this strategy, state policy examples and considerations for policymakers.

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