Iowa
Teaching Standards and Leadership Standards
Teaching Standards
Is working with and meeting the needs of students with disabilities addressed in state teaching standards?
Standard four of the Iowa Teaching Standards and Criteria states that teachers are to use “strategies to deliver instruction that meets the multiple learning needs of students.” The criteria for this standard states that teachers are expected to use research-based instructional strategies that address the full range of cognitive levels, and demonstrate flexibility and responsiveness in adjusting instruction to meet student needs.
Source: Iowa Department of Education, Iowa Teaching Standards and Criteria
School Leadership Standards
Is knowledge of working with students with disabilities included in leader standards?
While the Iowa Standards for School Leaders do not specifically address knowledge of working with students with disabilities, they state that educational leaders are responsible for promoting the success of all students.
Source: Iowa Standards for School Leaders
Teacher and Principal Preparation
Teacher Preparation – Program Approval/Accreditation
Required course work in teaching students with disabilities/diverse learners
Teacher candidates must demonstrate the content knowledge and the pedagogical and professional knowledge, skills and dispositions necessary to help all students learn. They must complete specific, dedicated coursework in “understanding exceptional learners and in obtaining the necessary knowledge, skills, and dispositions toward meeting the learning needs of all students, including students with disabilities.” Each teacher candidate must demonstrate “acquisition of the knowledge, skills and dispositions designated by the unit standards and aligned with the INTASC standards embedded in the professional education core for an Iowa teaching license at a level appropriate for a novice teacher, including demonstrating “an understanding of how students differ in their approaches to learning and creates instructional opportunities that are equitable and adaptable to diverse learners.”
Source: Iowa Administrative Code (IAC), 281—79.15
Clinical time in diverse settings/teaching special populations
State teacher preparation clinical practice standards require each teacher candidate to participate in field experiences including both observation and participation in teaching activities in a variety of school settings and totaling at least 80 hours’ duration, with at least 10 hours occurring prior to acceptance into the program. The student teaching experience for initial licensure meets all of the following: Includes full-time experience for a minimum of 14 consecutive weeks during the student’s final year of the practitioner preparation program.
Each teacher candidate demonstrates, “within specific coursework dedicated to understanding exceptional learners, in other coursework, and in clinical experiences, the necessary knowledge, skills, and dispositions toward meeting the learning needs of all students”, including “students with disabilities.”
Source: IAC 281—79.15(4) and 79(20)
Teacher Preparation – Accountability
Quality of teacher preparation programs
The state of Iowa collects some program-specific, objective data that reflect teacher preparation program performance, such as evaluative data from practitioners who work with teacher candidates as well as “evidence of evaluative data collected through follow-up studies of graduates and their employers.”
Source: National Council on Teacher Quality, 2012 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Improving Teacher Preparation in Iowa
Principal Preparation – Program Approval/Accreditation
Require course work in leading a school/district that serves students with disabilities/diverse learners
State administrator preparation clinical practice standards require each candidate to be provided clinical and field experiences, for a minimum of 400 hours during the preparation program, that support the development of knowledge, dispositions, and skills identified in the unit standards. These include demonstrating, “within specific coursework dedicated to understanding exceptional learners, in other coursework, and in clinical experiences, the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to meet the learning needs of all students,” including “students with disabilities.”
Source: IAC 281—79.16 and 79.17
Principal Preparation – Accountability
Are programs reviewed based on outcomes of graduates’ success? Can school principals be linked back to institutions of higher education and preparation programs?
Iowa has initiated an updated annual reporting system required of all educator preparation programs. The reporting system is aligned with the same standards used in principal preparation and local principal evaluation systems. This accountability system requires programs to identify where principal preparation graduates are working. Programs are also required to annually survey principal program graduates and their supervisors. The Iowa Department of Education’s annual report template and survey prompts are posted on its website.
Source: Email communication from Iowa Department of Education, September 10, 2014
Teacher and Principal Certification/Licensure
Teacher Certification/Licensure – Structure
Is a specific certificate, license or endorsement related to special education required?
An elementary subject-matter test is required for an elementary special education license (K-8). Iowa holds its elementary special education teachers to the same preparation and subject-matter testing requirements as general elementary teachers. Secondary special education (5-12) candidates must hold a regular licensure endorsement.
Sources:
National Council on Teacher Quality, 2012 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Improving Teacher Preparation in Iowa
Iowa Administrative Code 282—14.2
Teacher Certification – Examination
Does the state require teachers to pass a basic skills exam for initial certification? What are the pass rates on the exams? Does the state require Praxis II or more pedagogical assessment for licensure? Does it include anything about teaching diverse learners or special populations?
Iowa requires all teacher education students to pass a pre-professional skills test in order to be admitted into a teacher education program and progress beyond basic courses. The passing score for the pre-professional skills test is established by the program. The pass rate on exams is 100%, since candidates are not allowed to progress without passing the assessment. To be considered a program completer, candidates must pass an assessment of content and pedagogy, or a performance assessment that is centered on content. The accepted test of content and pedagogy is ETS Praxis II. Candidates must pass the Principles of Learning and Teaching (PLT) pedagogy test and a state specified content test for their license area. The passing score is established by the state at the first score above the 25th percentile nationally. The accepted performance assessment is the SCALE edTPA assessment. Passing score is established by the state.
Sources:
ETS, Overview of Iowa Testing Requirements
Practitioner Preparation, Iowa Department of Education
IAC 281 79.13
Email communication from Iowa Department of Education, September 10, 2014
Teacher Certification/Licensure – Requirements
Is professional development around working with special populations required to move from initial to a professional license?
Professional development around working with special student populations is not required to move from initial to a professional license.
Requirements for the Initial teaching license (valid for 2 years) are:
- Baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited institution.
- Completion of an approved teacher preparation program.
- Completion of an approved human relations component.
- Completion of requirements for a teaching endorsement.
- Completion of the Iowa mandated tests (graduates after January 1, 2013). [New testing requirements can be found on the Department of Education Practitioner Preparation page.]
- Meets the requirement of 6 college credits or teaching experience – either within the last 5 years.
Requirements for the Standards teaching license (valid for 5 years) are:
- Completion of requirements 1-6 for the initial license.
- Evidence of two years successful teaching experience in a public school in Iowa or three years in any combination of public, private, or out-of-state.
Sources:
Iowa Board of Educational Examiners, Requirements for Licenses
University of Kentucky, 50 States’ Certification Requirements
Principal Certification/Licensure – Requirements
Is prior teaching experience required to become a principal and/or a superintendent? Is specific coursework or other evidence required around working with special populations?
The state of Iowa requires principal candidates to obtain a Master’s Degree, to have prior teaching experience, and to complete a state-approved preparation program. Candidates must complete a sequence of courses and clinical experiences that may have been a part of, or in addition to, degree requirements. Three years of teaching experience at the PreK-12 level is required. The Iowa State Board of Educational Examiners has adopted criteria for administrator endorsements that allow one to obtain an endorsement to work as an elementary or secondary school principal regardless of the grade level at which the individual accrued teaching experience.
Principal licensure qualifies school administrators to serve as a PK-12 building principal as well as a PK-12 Supervisor of Special Education. The content knowledge requirements under IAC 282-13 requires completion of a sequence of courses and experiences that address “knowledge of current issues in special education administration’ and “planned field experiences in elementary and secondary school administration including special education administration.”
Sources:
Iowa Board of Educational Examiners, Administrative Endorsements
Requirements for Licenses
George W. Bush Institute, Operating in the Dark
Email communication from Iowa Department of Education, September 10, 2014
Teacher and Principal Induction
Teacher Induction
Is mentoring required for all new teachers and for how many years? If so, do program guidelines/requirements specifically address teaching diverse learners?
State law requires induction programs to provide a minimum of “a two-year sequence” of support to all new teachers. The state also provides for an optional third year, at the expense of the district or area education agency, if necessary for a teacher to meet the requirements of a career-level teaching license. In addition, Iowa has initiated the Teacher Leadership and Compensation System, as mandated by statute. This system, being phased in across the state incrementally over three years, is designed to provide support for beginning teachers as well as develop leadership roles for teachers.
Sources:
New Teacher Center, Review of State Policies on Teacher Induction
IAC, 281—83.3
Email communication from Iowa Department of Education, September 10, 2014
Principal Induction
Is coaching/mentoring required for all new principals/administrators/ superintendents and for how many years? If so, do program guidelines/requirements specifically serving diverse learners?
State law requires school districts to provide a qualified mentor to each beginning school administrator for a minimum of one year. Similar to teacher induction, an additional year is allowable, “if, after conducting a comprehensive evaluation, the school district or area education agency determines that the administrator is likely to successfully demonstrate competence in the Iowa standards for school administrators by the end of the second year.” The Iowa mentoring and induction programs for school leaders are based on Iowa school leader standards, which address meeting the needs of diverse learners.
Sources:
New Teacher Center, Review of State Policies on Teacher Induction
IAC, 281—83.3
Teacher and Principal Professional Development Standards
Teacher Professional Development Standards
Does the state have professional development standards for teacher PD?
In March 2014, the Iowa State Board of Education updated the Iowa Professional Development Standards govern the on-going professional learning of teachers. They must be aligned with state teaching standards and with local student achievement goals. School districts must support the individual professional development of teachers and must incorporate the district professional development plan into its comprehensive school improvement plan. The Iowa Professional Development Model provides a framework for teacher professional development plans.
Sources:
Iowa Professional Development Standards, Iowa Department of Education
IAC, 281-83.6
Iowa Professional Development Model
Principal Professional Development Standards
Does the state have professional development standards for leadership PD?
Iowa school administrators are required by state law to develop an individual administrator professional development plan. In March 2014, the Iowa State Board of Education updated the Iowa Professional Development Standards govern the on-going professional learning of school administrators. The Iowa Professional Development Model provides a framework for professional development plans.
Sources:
Iowa Code, Chapter 284A
Iowa Professional Development Standards, Iowa Department of Education
IAC, 281-83.6
Iowa Professional Development Model