Texas Alternative Teacher Certification

Getting Started

To enroll in the iteach Texas program, you must provide documentation of the following:

BACHELOR’S DEGREE with 2.5 GPA

You must earn a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university.

• The Texas Administrative Code requires that candidates completing a Texas program must have a degree from a university that is accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB).
  
• U.S. Department of Education Database for Accredited Colleges and Universities (outside source)
• Health Science Technology and Trades & Industrial Education certifications may be exempt from the Bachelor’s degree requirement.  Transcripts from your highest level of education is required.

MINIMUM 2.50 GRADE POINT AVERAGE

This will be determined in one of the following ways:

• Minimum 2.50 GPA (your undergraduate GPA as posted on conferred degree transcript), or
• Minimum 2.50 GPA in last 60 hours Click here for a calculator (requires Microsoft Excel)

Your graduating GPA must be calculated and posted by the university on your official transcripts. If your final transcript does not reflect a graduation GPA, you will need to contact your college registrar’s office to have a letter typed on University letterhead that includes your GPA sent in with your official transcripts.

IDENTIFICATION OF CONTENT/CERTIFICATION AREA

In addition to meeting the basic admissions requirements, you must also meet requirements to be certified in a content area. iteach Texas determines your eligibility for certification in a content area during your application evaluation and the review of your official transcripts.

Qualifications for content area certification will be identified by the following methods in chronological order. Only one content area may be identified for admissions. If you hold a degree in a specific content area, iteach will identify this before any other content areas based on state requirements:

• TExES Content Test passed
• Conferred degree in a specific content area based on an academic major;
• 15 hours in identified content areas of English, math, science, and social studies for Core Subjects, 4-8 Subject Test and/or EC-12 Special Education; or
• (TXPACT Test is not an instrument for content identification. However, TXPACT test may be required if transcript credits are inconclusive.)

Applicants must also:

• Have a personal e-mail account and access to a personal (not school) computer.
• Add iteach.net to your contacts list
• Demonstrate professionalism during all written correspondence and oral communication with iteach Texas.
• Verification of Work Authorization Status: If not a U.S. citizen, verification of lawful permanent residence and a copy of current Green Card must be provided at the time of application with at least two years of employment eligibility.

REVIEW OF CERTIFICATION STANDING

iteach Texas will review your TEA account and take the following into consideration when evaluating for admission:

• Years of service taught as a teacher
• Previous Educator Preparation Program participation
• Certification testing record;

ARE YOU CURRENTLY ENROLLED IN COLLEGE?

If you are currently completing your final semester of coursework toward a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution of higher education as required by Texas Education Agency and the Texas Administration Code, and you currently meet the identified admission requirements, then you may be eligible for admission on a contingent basis.

• Spring graduates may apply January 1 – May 1
• Summer graduates may apply June 1 – August 1
• Fall graduates may apply September 1 – December 1

To qualify for contingency admittance, you must provide the following documentation along with your application and evaluation fee by the above deadlines:

1. Letter of completion from an academic advisor or registrar’s office. (This letter needs to indicate that you are currently completing your final semester and you are eligible for graduation.)
2. Official transcripts through previous semester

Once you are accepted as a contingency candidate in the educator preparation program, you may continue to test on a limited basis and begin your coursework. Contingent candidates who wish to transition into full program admission must meet all general admissions requirements and must provide iteach Texas an official transcript reflecting a conferred degree before receiving a Statement of Eligibility.

DID YOU GRADUATE OUTSIDE THE U.S.?

Graduates from a university outside of the United States:

1. 1. An original Foreign Credential Review of college degree(s) from an approved agency. The following organizations are members of either the Association of International Credential Evaluators, Inc. (AICE) or the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) and have been vetted by the TEA to provide specific required information in the evaluation for educators applying for a Texas review of credentials.  For your credential evaluation to be accepted, you must select a company from this list.
   1. • Academic Credentials Evaluation Institute, Inc.
   1. • Bruscan Educational Information Services
   1. • Center for Educational Documentation, Inc.
   1. • Educational Perspectives
   1. • Educational Records Evaluation Service
   1. • Foreign Credential Evaluations, Inc.
   1. • Foreign Credential Services of America
   1. • Foundation for International Services, Inc.
   1. • Global Credential Evaluators, Inc.
   1. • Global Education Group, Inc.
   1. • Globe Language Services
   1. • Institute of Foreign Credential Services (IFCS)
   1. • International Academic Credential Evaluator, Inc
   1. • International Education Research Foundation (IERF)
   1. • International Evaluation Service
   1. • Josef Silny & Associates, Inc.
   1. • Scholaro (formerly Foreign Credits, Inc.)
   1. • SDR Educational Consultants
   1. • SpanTran: The Evaluation Company
   1. • Ucredo
   1. • World Education Services, Inc.
   1. • Worldwide Education Consultant Services, Inc.

   The credential evaluation must include the following information:

   • Verification that one holds the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree granted by an accredited institution of higher education in the United States, including the month, day, and year that the degree was conferred
   • U.S. equivalency for each credential
   • Course-by-course analysis
   • Cumulative GPA of credit hours
   2. Submit acceptable documentation of English language proficiency by one of the following options:.
   • Test of English as a Foreign Language Internet-based Test (TOEFL iBT)  Proof of oral English language proficiency through verification of minimum scaled scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language Internet-based Test (TOEFL iBT) of 24 for speaking, 22 for listening, 22 for reading, and 21 for writing.  You may use the institution code B291 when registering for the TOEFL on the ETS website to send scores directly to iteach. NOTE:TOEFL scores are valid for two years after the test date. If your scores are older than two years, you will be required to retest.
   • Earned Master’s degree from an accredited U.S. university. Please send official transcripts.
   • Or if an undergraduate or graduate degree was earned at an institution of higher education in a country outside of the United States But appears on the Attached Graphic, you may be exempt from the TOEFL iBT test, click here

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