Teacher Certification

[barbeque22]

Has anyone had any luck using Excelsior & CLEP exams to test out of requirements for teacher certification in their state?

I am considering finishing my degree in Bio rather than doing business. I live in NC and there is a big middle school/high school teacher shortage in the science area. I think I only need two more upper levels to finish off the biology major area at excelsior and then some other general education.

I tried contacting NC Education dept but the lady had no clue what I was talking about when referring to clep and excelsior exams. NC has a lateral entry program which allows people with non-teaching degrees to teach, just not sure if the degree can have any tested out classes.

Also, I have been trying to search the forum for discussions regarding teaching certification with little luck....has anyone found any great threads.

[marianne202]

Hey,

I too live in NC and am attending EC. I teach at the community college level. I did look into the lateral entry program here last year. Did you print off the lateral entry handbook off the NC dept of education website? Since you have to be sponsored by the individual school district/county for lateral entry I would suggest you contact them and ask if they have any specific degree requirements. I'm in a rural area and our schools don't care as long as you have an RA degree they don't care where they come from. Unless they look very closely at your transcript they won't even know you tested out of your courses, unless you tell them. You also have to score high enough on your Praxis exams to qualify for lateral entry. I know the subject area you want to teach in has specific requirement found on the lateral entry website as well as I would encourage you to print off the handbook for the subject are you are interested in. It has all the components of the courses you would have teach and any special degree or experience requirements. That may give you some idea of where your strengths need to lie.

Good luck!

[barbeque22]

Thanks for responding. I have searched each of the websites pertaining to lateral entry and still can't seem to find the subject handbooks you are referring to....can u tell me where they are located?

What area are you trying to get certified in. I would love to have done elementary but it appears that lateral entry to that area is not an option.

Thanks again for your response!

[marianne202]

Here is what I found quickly. If this doesn't answer your questions, then just continue to browse around. I would recommend also using the website of the county you want to work for. My county has links for lateral entry along with county specific info and requirements. That may help you more than the state sites. I believe lateral entry is only for K-12 or 6-12. I couldn't teach the little ones so I only looked for high school.

Here is info on lateral entry and praxis tests. Lateral Entry Teachers

Here is the link to the science curriculum.
Science

I found that by talking with my county office or the school principal where the job is offered gave me a ton of info. Since the county has to recommend you for lateral entry it makes sense to get friendly and do things their way! Our county is laying off teachers left and right. I wish you the best of luck! I hope this helps.

Good luck!

[barbeque22]

I have decided to just go for the actual teaching degree. I am enrolling in a k-8 program. That will make it so I can do elementary (general) or middle school teaching (science & math because I have 24 credits in each).

Thank you so much for your help!

[twosidneys]

Google ABCTE

It works for 10 states now and is very reasonable in price

Sidney

[Clep Pro]

YES.

I have a NY elementary certification. In order to get a HS certification you need 30 credits in whichever subject you want to teach. I only had 12 credits from my bachelor's degree.

This summer over the course of 2 weeks I CLEPPED 18 English credits, passed the NYS certification exam, and was just hired as an 11th grade English teacher.

Otherwise, it would have taken 1 1/2 years and roughly $6,000 to accomplish that coursework.

Answer your question?

[alleycat]

YES.

I have a NY elementary certification. In order to get a HS certification you need 30 credits in whichever subject you want to teach. I only had 12 credits from my bachelor's degree.

This summer over the course of 2 weeks I CLEPPED 18 English credits, passed the NYS certification exam, and was just hired as an 11th grade English teacher.

Otherwise, it would have taken 1 1/2 years and roughly $6,000 to accomplish that coursework.

Answer your question?

ClepPro are you getting your certification in business also? I noticed you had started doing some business cleps?

[Clep Pro]

ClepPro are you getting your certification in business also? I noticed you had started doing some business cleps?

No. I took Marketing and Management simply to rack up credits once I learned that I would get a raise with an M.S. + 30 credits.

I'm now working on a 7-12 SS certification- Need a total of 24 credits...that's why I did American Govt. and Macroeconomics.

next up:
Human and Cultural Geography DSST
US History 1- Clep
US History 2- Clep
Western Civ- 1
Western Civ- 2
Western Europe since 1945 Dsst

As an aside, I just went into my new High School to prepare for the year teaching 11th grade ELA, and it's awesome. It is almost surreal to me that I have escaped the scourge of Elementary Education in 3 weeks of Clep, when it otherwise would have been 1.5 years and many thousands of dollars.

People still do not believe that this has actually happened.

My attitude is...if you don't want to believe me, then don't be late for class! hilarious

[alleycat]

No. I took Marketing and Management simply to rack up credits once I learned that I would get a raise with an M.S. + 30 credits.

I'm now working on a 7-12 SS certification- Need a total of 24 credits...that's why I did American Govt. and Macroeconomics.

next up:
Human and Cultural Geography DSST
US History 1- Clep
US History 2- Clep
Western Civ- 1
Western Civ- 2
Western Europe since 1945 Dsst

As an aside, I just went into my new High School to prepare for the year teaching 11th grade ELA, and it's awesome. It is almost surreal to me that I have escaped the scourge of Elementary Education in 3 weeks of Clep, when it otherwise would have been 1.5 years and many thousands of dollars.

People still do not believe that this has actually happened.

My attitude is...if you don't want to believe me, then don't be late for class! hilarious

Wow so you are still Clepping by the look of it. Now when will you be tackling your next line up? Your comment about people believing you or not is very true. Because most people do not understand that there are actual, real, legit shorter routes to achieve success with out killing yourself. So you worked smarter not harder, good for you, and good luck on your next run. Keep us posted.