Endorsement by Exam: Policy and Practice in Rural Special Education

Abstract

National- and state-level education policies are evolving to address teacher shortages that are pervasive across the United States and are particularly problematic in rural special education. In this article, we describe a policy we call “endorsement by exam” in which teachers certified in one subject area can become certified in other areas by passing a content knowledge test. Although such add-on endorsements are not uncommon in some content areas (e.g., chemistry teachers adding certification in biology), some states have extended this practice to include special education certification. The purpose of this article is to explore what state agencies have adopted endorsement by exam for special education. Despite difficulties in obtaining reliable information, we determined approximately eight states have adopted some form of this policy. We discuss results in terms of rurality and conclude by explaining our position that endorsement by exam is a potentially harmful quick fix that may in fact exacerbate teacher shortages in the long term and thus is ill advised.