Getting a U.S. teaching License with Masters in Education (ESOL)

Post Reply
Alchemeister
Posts: 16
Joined: Tue Sep 17, 2019 10:17 am

Getting a U.S. teaching License with Masters in Education (ESOL)

Post by Alchemeister »

I'm currently studying at Fort Hays University and I'll get my Masters of Science in Education (ESOL) next year. I'm wondering if there is any teaching license that doesn't require me to take exams if I have my Masters in Education (ESOL) and have been teaching ESOL for 10 years in Japan? My masters program has a practicum component which I am completing at the school I currently work at in Japan.
PsyGuy
Posts: 10789
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2011 9:51 am
Location: Northern Europe

Response

Post by PsyGuy »

It depends what you mean by "license". A license is authorization by a regulating authority to provide and deliver specified instructional services. In one scenario an IB workshop certificate meets the training and PD requirements of the IB for an ISs/DSs authorization. Im sure thats not what you meant though.
When looking at credentials (this is a different and significantly distinct term than license) there are two groups; permits (permitted) credentials and regular credentials (and within regular credentials there are entry, professional and advanced grades of credentials). Regular credentials, such as QTS, etc. are easy to envision. They are what we generally recognize as what makes a professional edu a professional. Its the other category of permits that is much more grey. These permits (and they vary a lot) such as a "charter school" permit would meet the definition of a license but not be a credential. There are such permits you would be eligible for based on your criteria but it would be rather evident that such a permit credential isnt a regular credential, but you may find leaders who either know and dont care or dont know and hire you based on that credential to meet some requirement.
In the realm of regular credentials there isnt a credential in the US/UK/AUS/CAN that would accept specifically your qualifications (A M.Ed in TESOL), 10 years ESOL experience in EE and an ESOL practicum in full completion of the requirements for a regular credential without professional edu testing. Its possible your dossier could earn you some form of credential in a region where a Masters and/or experience, etc. alone meet the credentialing requirements, but those regions typically require some form of fluency in the host language to be eligible as part of the application process which tends to be the primary burden.
godmachine12
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri Feb 12, 2021 2:47 am

Re: Getting a U.S. teaching License with Masters in Education (ESOL)

Post by godmachine12 »

Alchemeister wrote:
> I'm currently studying at Fort Hays University and I'll get my Masters of
> Science in Education (ESOL) next year. I'm wondering if there is any
> teaching license that doesn't require me to take exams if I have my Masters
> in Education (ESOL) and have been teaching ESOL for 10 years in Japan? My
> masters program has a practicum component which I am completing at the
> school I currently work at in Japan.

Florida will waive the general knowledge exam (essay, reading comp, English and maths) if you have a Master's Degree. You'll still have to sit a subject area and teaching knowledge exam, but with an MS and 10 years of experience, I don't think you'd have a problem with those. The exams can be taken at any Pearson Test Centre.

You don't mention if you've done initial teacher training/teacher preparation, but Florida seems fairly simple to get a temporary certificate that can be upgraded to a full professional licence. Have a look at this link and see if it's for you: https://www.fldoe.org/teaching/certific ... ys-routes/

Good luck!
sid
Posts: 1392
Joined: Sat Dec 02, 2006 11:44 am

Re: Getting a U.S. teaching License with Masters in Education (ESOL)

Post by sid »

As with the other respondents, I don’t know of a route without exams. But I will say the exams are fairly pathetic. The bar is set very low. You shouldn’t have any trouble passing if you pay any sort of attention in your courses.
chemteacher101
Posts: 112
Joined: Fri Feb 01, 2013 2:57 pm

Re: Getting a U.S. teaching License with Masters in Education (ESOL)

Post by chemteacher101 »

Not sure if Indiana has a middle school or highschool license in your subject, but if it does, you may be able to go through their alternate Advanced Degree pathway.

https://www.in.gov/doe/educators/educat ... ure-paths/

Hope this helps
PsyGuy
Posts: 10789
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2011 9:51 am
Location: Northern Europe

Discussion

Post by PsyGuy »

::sigh::

Such poor advice. The forum has parsed these metrics before. These wont work for the LW under the conditions they indicated:

FL: First, yes they will wave the general knowledge requirement for having a Masters but that leaves the LW in the same position as DOEs that dont have a general knowledge requirement in the first place. The LW still has to do testing in a the content/subject matter and meds/peds/asst.
Second, the LW may indeed actually have some issues with the FL ESOL exam, as like other special populations exams it has unique legal and services content thats specific to FL.
Third, I didnt read that the Masters and Practicum they completed was part of an EPP/ITT program if it was why not just get the credential though that program? Im assuming thus that it doesnt and the practicum is just another course.
Fourth, yes the FL Temporary credential is relatively easy to get, but the LW in this case cant actually get it issued, and few if any ITs would be able to because its more a permitted credential than a regular credential. It requires sponsorship from an employing LEA/DS, meaning you need a FL DS to give you a job.

IN: This is an even bigger mess. First IN does have ESOL. Second, The advanced pathway will substitute for the EPP/ITT program but it will still require content and meds/peds/asst testing, though IN does use a version of the PRAXIS available globally. Right here this doesnt meet the LWs requirements. Third, it also requires a full year of teaching experience that the IN DOE may or may not accept, and thats on top of CPR and suicide prevention that albeit are not difficult to obtain. Fourth, and this is the huge one, the first credential you get is the Initial Practitioner (entry grade) credential that you have to renew every 2 years for a maximum of three renewals. Within that time you have to convert from the Initial Practitioner too the Practitioner which is a 5 year credential, the conversion requires 2 years teaching experience and 40 units of PD. Then after youve been a practitioner for 5 years and taught for two of those years you can professionalize to the Professional (advanced grade) a 10 year credential, requiring a Masters degree (the LW meets this requirement), NBPTS, PD or 6 hours coursework. Then every 10 years you can renew the credential requiring either 90 PD units or 6 hours of coursework.

The comparison is the MA Provisional credential (entry grade). Two tests a subject matter test in ESOL, a literacy general knowledge test and a Bachelors/First degree. This results in an effective lifetime credential that doesnt need renewal.
chemteacher101
Posts: 112
Joined: Fri Feb 01, 2013 2:57 pm

Re: Getting a U.S. teaching License with Masters in Education (ESOL)

Post by chemteacher101 »

I stand corrected on Indiana.

Thank God we have PsyGuy who can always give 100% accurate, unbiased and ethical advice on any topic.
PsyGuy
Posts: 10789
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2011 9:51 am
Location: Northern Europe

Discussion

Post by PsyGuy »

In the US there is not a DOE where an edu can specifically obtain a regular credential solely by verifying a Masters degree or a Masters degree and resume/service record of experience. There are as shown (and there are others such as CA and CT) where some combination of experience and a degree can substitute for completion of an EPP/ITT program but in those cases they require professional assessment (such as MA) and potentially additional requirements (such as IN). There are pathways to getting permitted credentials that do not require assessment or EPP/ITT programs such as substitute and charter sch. pathways or explicit permits such as "Emergency" permits, but these arent what the LW is looking for.

The LW would need to go outside the US for a region in the EUR or Asia where a Masters is the practicing credential, but in these regions the IT often needs to demonstrate a degree of proficiency in the host region language. Even in such environments where the IT had demonstrated the appropriate language proficiency and did obtain a regular credential, in many cases an IS would be weary of an IT using such a credential and they are likely to engage in increased inspection of the credential. Its about coin flip probabilities it would work.
In English speaking regions where a westerner who was not originally domiciled such as in HK. In HK the LW could seek registered status (professional grade credential) if HKCAAVQ determined the Masters and practicum in this case was acceptable. However, the LW would have to travel to HK to do this as they must submit verification of an acceptable visa (including a landing/tourist visa) with their application. A registered DT/IT is required to maintain PD but this is a burden on the DS/IS and the edu to maintain. There is no formal submission of PD or expiration of the credential. This credential can not be used to obtain QTS.
PsyGuy
Posts: 10789
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2011 9:51 am
Location: Northern Europe

Discussion

Post by PsyGuy »

::ugh::

I was wrong, I hate being wrong.

**UPDATE**
Assuming the LW is a US Citizen/PR they can obtain the Utah (UT) AEL (Entry grade) Secondary ESOL credential based solely on their Masters in TESOL (and their Bachelors/First degree) without testing, an EPP/ITT program or any experience.

In the last few years UT has revised their credentialing standards. Formerly it was possible to obtain an entry grade credential through the APT (Academic Pathway to Teaching). That was replaced with the current scheme (including the AEL), but it wasnt developed entirely yet and required testing.
The current scheme provides for two credentials the AEL (Associate Educator License) an entry grade credential and the PEL (Professional Educator License), a professional grade credential. The AEL is a 3 year, renewable (100 units of PD required for renewal) credential.

The requirements for the secondary AEL are application (including CRB), completion of a online meds/peds/asst program (its a brief Adobe canvas slideshow type program consisting of 4 modules) a Bachelors/First degree and a Masters in TESOL. No EPP/ITT program is required (the online modules serve this purpose). There is no edu testing required. There is no experience requirement.

For most other credentialing areas an applicant can take the appropriate PRAXIS exams or provide evidence of a Bachelors degree/First degree or major in the secondary subject area. For Primary/Elementary credentialing at the AEL level, the PRAXIS is required. If the LW wanted to be credentialed at the primary/elementary level in ESOL they would need to pass the Elementary Education 5001 PRAXIS exam to qualify for a Primary/Elementary AEL credential.

This credential must be renewed with PD (100 units) every three years. While the MA provisional (Entry grade credential) requires edu testing it and is an effective lifetime credential (non-expiring) it requires some logistics and some candidates may simply not want to pay for or participate in edu testing. The AEL pathway is also one less edu test than the MA Provisional credential would require, though the MA credential would be an effective lifetime credential and the AEL credential requires renewal every 3 years.

It should be noted that this route is NOT available to non-US citizens/PR. UT does not issue regular credentials to non-citizens/PR who do not hold a valid work visa for the US, in which case the UT DOE has like many state DOEs has an international credential but the applicant must have a valid work visa for the US.
Alchemeister
Posts: 16
Joined: Tue Sep 17, 2019 10:17 am

Re: Getting a U.S. teaching License with Masters in Education (ESOL)

Post by Alchemeister »

Thanks everyone for your input on this. Yes my masters is not a teacher prep program (I wish it were). It is meant for teachers who want to add ESOL on to their licenses, but I thought it was a good option for me if I wanted to teach at university in Japan or America and it gave me the education background I was seeking. Thank you psyguy, I'm looking into the Utah license now. So it's only the AEL that I could get without taking the praxis right, not the PEL? What would I need to do to get the PEL, do a teacher prep program? Also, if I took say the English praxis exam and passed it, would that be all that's necessary to get an AEL for English in addition to ESOL in Utah?
PsyGuy
Posts: 10789
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2011 9:51 am
Location: Northern Europe

Reply

Post by PsyGuy »

@Alchemeister

Its only the AEL. There are only two routes to the PEL; the traditional academic Uni based pathway in which case your field experience is student teaching or; the skills, work based pathway which involves field experience in the form of an internship. The AEL is intended as the credential that allows a candidate to complete those field experience requirements.
You will not be able to professionalize the AEL too the PEL, both pathways require field experience in a UT DS. You can not complete it internationally or outside of UT.
Completing a UT EPP/ITT program would require field experience in a UT DS.

What you presented originally however was a strong indication of NOT taking any type of exams. If thats changed than the MA Provisional route is superior. The one additional exam is a English literacy exam, and the MA Provisional is the same level of entry grade credential as the UT AEL is. The MA Provisional though is an effective lifetime credential.
I can see some benefits to the UT pathways. You would be looking at 3 exams in MA to teach ESOL, and Literature vs. 1 exam in UT to teach ESOL and Literature. Additionally, UTs PRAXIS has much greater global availability for testing than MAs MTEL exams. UTs renewal and PD requirements arent worth the upfront benefits.
As before with UTs APT credential, the practical scenario where the UT AEL credential really excels is in the case of a candidate with very little time (IE. non-teaching couple and theres an opportunity for them as a teaching couple). The AEL application can be completed relatively quickly given the assumption fingerprints for the CRB can be completed readily.

Yes, if you passed the English Literature PRAXIS exam you would be able to add an endorsement in Secondary English Literature to your AEL or you could obtain the English Literature endorsement by submitting transcripts showing completion of a degree or major in English Literature or related field.
Post Reply