Cutoff at the Pass: Do Licensure Exams Change the Supply of Available Teachers?

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session Nine
  In Roundtable Session: Talking Teachers: Analyzing Motivations and Crises (Table 5)

Abstract

Recent research identifies licensure exams, which are required to obtain permission to
teach in most states, as a barrier for many prospective teachers. Content-specific exams have different passing rates, suggesting that some exams are more difficult, and passing rates differ in ways that may be related to the areas with the largest teacher shortages. Tensions emerge around ensuring baseline quality of incoming teachers without unnecessarily constraining supply of new candidates. I use test-taker data and employ a regression discontinuity approach that captures the causal impact of failing a licensure exam on teachers’ subsequent test-taking behavior, receipt of a teaching license, and licensure content area. I also measure the relationship between teachers’ licensure exam scores and their performance.

Author

• Hannah Kistler, Annenberg Institute, Brown University
  Presenting Author