Teacher Certification during Multiple Pandemics in the Epicenter of it All

Abstract

Teacher certification exams were put on hold as New York City became the epicenter of the COVID-19 crisis in March of 2020. State officials closed testing centers and school buildings, and teacher candidates began to panic as administrators at their student teaching placements worked feverishly to adjust. This changed teacher candidates’ ability to complete the performance assessment required for certification (edTPA). Concurrently, COVID-19 was disproportionally affecting the Black community (Phillips et al., 2020) and areas with limited financial resources. Based on the demographics of students at The City University of New York, there were extensive health challenges for many of its Black and low-income teacher candidates and their families. Prior to the pandemic, there were already concerns about its challenges and costs both for teacher candidates and for schools of education may be a barrier to entry for those already underrepresented in the teaching profession (Davis, 2015).