Whereas
California has been engaged for the past several years in raising the standards for pre-service teachers, the induction of new teachers, and the continuing education of teachers.

And Whereas
These standards call for candidate demonstration of a combination of basic skills, subject matter knowledge, and professional preparation in pedagogy, which includes an assessment of teaching skills in classrooms with children, in order to receive a recommendation for a California teaching credential,

And Whereas
These standards also require well-prepared candidates who are to teach California’s students with special needs as well as students who are linguistically, culturally, and socio-economically diverse,

And Whereas
The recently formed group known as ABCTE, the American Board for the Certification of Teacher Excellence, proposes a national credentialing and certification system based solely on the passage of examinations rather than through demonstrated professional practice with children.

And Whereas
This latter approach appears to undermine the recent California SB 2042 legislation, and other reform legislation, that raise the standards for candidates who wish to receive an initial credential recommendation.

Therefore, Be It Resolved That
The California Council on Teacher Education (CCTE) strongly opposes the use of the ABCTE examination system in California as an alternative route to the issuance of an initial credential, or issuance of such a credential based on reciprocity with other states who may have adopted ABCTE.

And Be It Further Resolved That
The CCTE urges the California State Legislature, the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, the California Department of Education, and the California State Board of Education to reject attempts to bring the ABCTE examination program into the California teacher credentialing system.