Provisional Certification in the Teaching Field (PCTF)

For 2009-2010, the teaching fields for which an LEA, superintendent or nonpublic school administrator could request a PCTF to employ a person to teach in Grades 6-12 were limited to the following: biology, chemistry, Chinese, dance, English, English language arts, French, general science, general social science, geography, German, health education, history, Japanese, Latin, mathematics, music (choral or instrumental), physical education, physics, Russian, Spanish, theatre, and visual arts.

For 2009-2010, the teaching fields for which an LEA superintendent could request a PCTF to employ a person to teach in Grades K-8 were limited to the following: Chinese, dance, French, German, Japanese, Latin, music (choral or instrumental), physical education, Russian, Spanish, theatre, and visual arts.

A PCTF is issued at the request of an employing superintendent or nonpublic school administrator. Two copies of the certificate are sent to the superintendent or nonpublic school administrator who is asked to give one copy to the employee.

A mentor must be assigned to each person employed via the PCTF approach to earning a Professional Educator Certificate. The PCTF approach requires three years of full-time teaching while holding a valid PCTF, and within four years from the validity date of the first PCTF. Supervision is provided for holders of PCTFs in the same manner that supervision is provided for all teachers.

Earning a Class B Professional Educator Certificate by completing the PCTF approach requires a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited college/university, a request for certification from an Alabama county/city superintendent or eligible non-public school administrator, and three years of employment with an assigned mentor in no more than two public school systems, two non-public schools, or a combination thereof, while holding three PCTFs, and within four years from the valid date of the first PCTF. There are three options for documenting content knowledge: (1) a passing score on the prescribed Praxis II test in the subject area if one has been validated for Alabama and if a Praxis II in the subject area has not been validated for Alabama, either (2)an academic major in the subject area or; (3) 32 semester hours of credit in the subject area of which at least 19 must be upper division credit.

Two changes adopted by the ASBE for implementation in 2011-2012 and thereafter require (1) a baccalaureate GPA of at least 2.50, and (2) passing scores on the basic skills assessments and the Praxis II tests prior to the issuance of the first PCTF. (Prior to 2011-2012, passing test scores were required for the second PCTF.) In addition to requiring three years of teaching experience, the PCTF approach requires completion of four courses with a minimum of a "C" average (usually 12 semester hours) -- classroom management; the evaluation of teaching and learning; strategies for teaching special needs students in inclusive settings; and methods of teaching in the teaching field and at the grade level for which certification is sought. In addition to the secondary grade span (6-12) noted above in response to Question 14, Alabama issues PCTFs for several teaching fields with a K-8 grade range: languages other than English, dance, music, theatre, and visual arts.

Alabama considers the PCTF to be an alternative program, rather than an alternative route. Now that passing scores on Alabama's three basic skills tests and the appropriate Praxis II test are required prior to the issuance of the first PCTF, the passage rate is 100 percent.