Family & Community Adult Education Adult & Community Learning Services
ABE Teacher's License Update
Volume 2 Number 3 - May 2000

Developing an Adult Basic Education Licensure Process for Massachusetts

The ABE Teacher Certification Update is published by the ESE (Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education) in coordination with SABES (System of Adult Basic Education Support) in an effort to keep practitioners and interested parties apprised of the status of the ABE Certification. This issue is an update of the status of the Second Interim Report, the upcoming "Roadshows," and new pilot courses. This Update, past issues, and other relevant documents are posted on the ESE Website www.doe.mass.edu/acls and the SABES Website www.sabes.org.

The Massachusetts Legislature, in an outside section to the fiscal year 1998 state budget, directed the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to develop a certification that would be available to, but not required of teachers of adult basic education. The offices of Teacher Certification and Credentialing, Adult and Community Learning Services, and the ABE Teacher Certification Advisory Committee recommend the following toward establishing a Massachusetts certification for teachers of adult basic education (ABE).

1. Goals in Developing an ABE Teacher Certification: The goals of the certification are to:
• reflect the unique characteristics of the field of ABE,
• identify what adult basic educators need to know and be able to do,
• integrate the goals of the ABE Curriculum Frameworks,
• respond to the needs and concerns of a largely part-time workforce of ABE practitioners, and
• recognize and value the expertise of experienced ABE practitioners.
2. Requirements of the ABE Teacher Certification: The requirements for the ABE teacher certification are:
• a bachelor's or a master's degree
,
• the Massachusetts Educator Certification Communication and Literacy Skills Test
,
• an Adult Basic Education Subject Matter Test (to be developed), and
• proficiency in thirty-four (34) Adult Basic Education teacher competencies.
3. ABE Teacher Competencies: Attainment of the ABE teacher certification will be based on demonstrating proficiency in each of thirty-four (34) teacher competencies. Teacher competencies are in the areas of: Foundation Knowledge, Understanding the Adult Learner, Diversity and Equity, Instructional Design, Teaching Methods, Facilitating the Adult Learning Environment, Student Assessment and Evaluation, and Professionalism/Continuing Education.
4. Form of the ABE Teacher Certification: A general certification that provides a foundation of knowledge and skills in all of the areas of adult basic education covering the breadth of content skills and abilities needed by adult educators (e.g. math, reading, writing, ESOL, and a general background in history, science, literature, and social studies).
5. Routes to the ABE Teacher Certification: Four routes to ABE teacher certification are proposed to encourage multiple ways of accessing this voluntary certification. The first route is for new ABE teachers, the second route is for novice ABE teachers with pre-K-12 certification, and the third and fourth routes are streamlining tracts designed to recognize the knowledge and expertise of experienced ABE practitioners.
6. Practica Requirements for ABE Teacher Certification: Both pre-service and in-service practica (i.e., apprenticeship supervised by a trained, ABE mentor teacher) are proposed in the interim report.

PLEASE REFER TO THE SECOND INTERIM REPORT FOR MORE DETAILS.

UPDATE ON PILOT COURSES:
There is a $300 stipend & 45 PDPs for full course completion and extensive course evaluation. Visit http://www.doe.mass.edu/acls/certpilot.html for Details!

Your feedback is critical!
It is not too late to have your comments heard. Please take the time to give us your reactions. To those of you who have responded, we thank you. For those of you who have not, we encourage you to send responses via letter, fax, or email to:

Mary Jayne Fay
ABE Certification Specialist
Adult and Community Learning Services
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148-5023
email: MJFAY@doe.mass.edu
FAX: 781-338-3394