Streamlined Teacher Credentialing

School is starting up again in a few short weeks, and many parents are concerned about a teacher shortage that many states are experiencing. Here in California, we have taken another step to attract more people into the profession – thanks to recently enacted legislation.

Prior to this summer, candidates for a teaching credential had to demonstrate basic skills in reading, writing and mathematics through one of several options, including passage of the California Basic Educational Skills Test (CBEST). Now, potential educators can satisfy that requirement if they hold a bachelor’s degree or higher from an accredited institution. This change will benefit the vast majority of prospective teachers in our state.

Members of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing have long considered the assessment system of future educators overly burdensome. They have been looking at ways to improve that process. While California has been moving away from standardized testing for teacher candidates for years, most are still opting to take one of the qualifying exams.

However, almost half of our state’s potential teachers have struggled to pass the standardized tests required to earn a credential, according to the commission’s data. Those numbers have prompted one organization, Public Advocates, to call CBEST a barrier for educators of color. It’s concerning when there’s a lack of diversity among our teacher ranks because our kids lose out on learning from educators who come from various backgrounds and experiences.

Plus, one exam doesn’t capture other appealing qualities of an educator – passion, commitment and resourcefulness among them. To many, including me, it makes no sense to require demonstrated competency in reading, writing and math when the person already has a four-year degree or higher. By counting coursework from colleges and universities as one of the requirements for a teacher credential, we open the career door to so many more qualified candidates.

Accepting a higher education degree as one of the credentialing requirements is a helpful step in addressing our teacher shortage. According to the commission’s annual report to the Legislature for the 2022-23 school year, there was an 11% decrease in the number of new teacher credentials issued compared to the prior year. When there aren’t enough people to fill these positions, we end up with high teacher-to-student ratios. Learning is impacted when teachers are spread too thin with too many students.

This new change to the credentialing process complements our prior work to attract more people to teaching. In my prior role as Assembly budget chair, we allocated about $1.6 billion in grants and state funding over several years to recruit, train and retain new teachers. We also recently funded eight career counselors for the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to provide one-on-one assistance to anyone interested in becoming an educator. These experienced staff members serve as career counselors, subject matter experts and resource specialists to make the journey into a TK-12 educational career easier.

But the state cannot address the teacher shortage alone. If you know a young person starting their college career with an interest in teaching, I encourage you to help them seek more information about it. Even people wanting to change careers may also want to get into the profession. The California College Corps provides would-be teachers with real-life tutoring experience, and Teach California offers step-by-step guidance for anyone wanting to be a teacher.

We urgently need more teachers to help our kids build brighter futures.

Phil Ting represents the 19th Assembly District, which includes the west side of San Francisco along with the communities of Broadmoor, Colma and Daly City as well as part of South San Francisco.