Information about Oklahoma Teacher Certification:
For more information about the teacher certification process please contact the Undergraduate Advising Office (phone: (405) 325-2238, email: jrcoe.advising@ou.edu; location: Collings Hall Room 137) or Jamie Aldridge, Certification Officer, (phone: (405) 325-2108, email: jaldridge@ou.edu; location: Collings Hall Room 100).
The College has a small emergency fund to help students experiencing financial difficulty cover the cost of these exams. Please see your advisor to inquire about eligibility.
The Oklahoma State Department of Education provides alternative pathways to Oklahoma teacher certification through the Alternative Placement Program and the Paraprofessional Career Development Program. Note: Unlike traditional teaching endorsements, endorsements earned through alternative teacher certification may not be recognized outside of the State of Oklahoma.
The Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education offers individualized plans of study for the OSDE Alternative Placement Program in Mathematics – Advanced Mathematics (111); Science – Biological (010), Chemistry (004), Earth Science (008), Physical Science (013), Physics (014); World Languages – Chinese (080), French (120), German (021), Latin (123), Russian (122), Spanish (119); and Language Arts – English (107). JRCoE also offers coursework to meet requirements in the Paraprofessional Career Development Program.
Note that the individualized plans of study for the Alternative Placement Program and the Paraprofessional Career Development Program will meet State coursework requirements and may include additional coursework as deemed appropriate by program area faculty.
Alternative Placement Program and Paraprofessional Career Development Program students will be advised by program faculty with support from the Undergraduate Advising Office.
Application Requirements
Students seeking to apply to JRCoE to complete coursework required in the Alternative Placement Program or the Paraprofessional Career Development Program must:
ODSE Alternative Certification Process: Step by Step
More information can be found at Oklahoma State Department of Education: Oklahoma Alternative Placement Program for Teacher Certification (click here)
Those seeking alternative teacher certification through the Oklahoma State Department of Education may be required to obtain a Letter of Concentration. Eligibility to request a letter of concentration from OU requires meeting each of the following criteria.
You are eligible to request a letter of concentration in a content area if you:
You are eligible to request a letter of concentration in school counseling if you:
NOTE: Masters degrees in Human Relations or Social Work do not provide preparation for school counseling in the absence of meeting the requirements noted above.
NOTE: if you are a Licensed Professional Counselor recognized by the State of Oklahoma, you may apply directly to OSDE for certification in school counseling.
Please contact the Undergraduate Advising Office (phone: 405.325.2238, email: jrcoe.advising@ou.edu; location: 137 Ellsworth Collings Hall) for information about how to request a letter of concentration.
In Oklahoma, administrative certificates are issued by the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE). Individuals are strongly recommended to check with the State Department for specific certification requirements. Additionally you could directly view the OSDE website at sde.ok.gov/education-profession-enhancements
The University of Oklahoma has an accredited program for the preparation of school principals who are part of the state alternative certification program. Alternatively certified candidates must complete an approved administrator preparation program of study in not more than three years (Oklahoma Statutes, 70-6-189(C)). The preparation program at OU consists of a minimum 27 graduate credit hours PLUS the successful completion of an EACS Comprehensive Portfolio.
In Oklahoma, administrative certificates are issued by the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE). Individuals are strongly recommended to check with the State Department for specific certification requirements. Additionally you could directly view the OSDE website at sde.ok.gov/education-profession-enhancements.
The University of Oklahoma has a program for the preparation of school superintendents (Oklahoma Statutes, 70-6-189(C)) that focuses on district level educational leadership competencies. The preparation program at OU consists of a minimum 25 graduate credit hours.
Requirements
The College of Education is accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) through 2026, with no identified Areas for Improvement, for its programs leading to initial teacher certification. Such programs include: B.S. Early Childhood Education; B.S. Elementary Education; B.S. Science Education (Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Earth Science, Physical Science, Physics); B.S. Language Arts Education; B.S. Mathematics Education; B.S. Social Studies Education; B.S. Special Education; and B.S. World Languages Education. Master’s programs leading to advanced levels of certification, which are still operating under an extension of accreditation from National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education(NCATE), will be up for review by CAEP in 2026. These include the Reading Specialist, M. Ed. and the Educational Administration, Curriculum and Supervision M.Ed., Ed.D., and Ph.D. Advanced Level Program data for the CAEP Accountability Measures will be made available after Fall 2024 once feedback is received from the SPA Accreditation Reports submitted March 2024.
Our state accrediting body is the Office of Educational Quality and Accountability OEQA, which reviews our educator preparation program (EPP) in tandem with national accreditors, also assessing state-level requirements. We currently provide annual reporting data to both entities.
OU Teacher Education graduates are highly satisfied with their preparation and highly rated by their employers. (CAEP Measures 1, 2, 3 and 4)
Graduating Seniors: At the end of every semester, we ask our graduating seniors how prepared they feel in regard to ten important facets of teacher preparation. Ratings can range from 1 (not prepared) to 5 (very prepared). Here’s how they rate their preparation! Content Knowledge = 4.76/5.00, Pedagogical Knowledge = 4.67/5.00, Learning Environment = 4.72/5.00, Classroom Management = 4.58/5.00, Assessment = 4.73/5.00, Reflective Practice = 4.76/5.00, Professionalism = 4.80/5.00, Disposition = 4.80/5.00. (All stayed pretty consistent with a slight increase in Content and Pedagogical Knowledge, Learning Environment, Classroom Management and Assessment.)
*Alumni/First Year Teachers:
At the end of every school year, we ask our alumni who are completing their first year of teaching how satisfied they are with their teacher preparation in regard to five important facets of teacher preparation using a scale of 1 (not satisfied) to 4 (very satisfied). Here’s how they rate their satisfaction! The Learner and Learning = 3.51/4.00, Content Knowledge = 3.24/4.00, Instructional Practice = 3.27/4.00, Professional Responsibility = 3.25/4.00, Use of Technology = 3.14/4.00 (2020-2021 survey results).
No First Year Teacher data from 2023 were collected due to the State Department of Education not sharing teacher data with OEQA.
At the end of every school year, we ask principals who employ our alumni how satisfied they are with OU teacher preparation graduates in regard to five important facets of teacher preparation using a scale of 1 (not satisfied) to 4 (very satisfied). Here’s how they rate their satisfaction! The Learner and Learning = 3.38/4.00, Content Knowledge = 3.30/4.00, Instructional Practice = 3.27/4.00, Professional Responsibility = 3.29/4.00, Use of Technology = 3.49/4.00. (2020-2021 survey results).
No Mentor data from 2023 were collected due to the State Department of Education not sharing teacher data with OEQA.
Of students who are admitted to OU’s teacher education program, 91% complete their degree.
OU teacher education graduates have very high pass rates on Oklahoma Certification Tests. For the 2022-23 academic year, 90% passed their Oklahoma Subject Area Test (OSAT) and 92% passed their Praxis Performance Assessment Test (PPAT).
We have multiple points of data, which are reported in our annual Title II report below. We also offer certification exam results and scores vary based on sample size (and those with fewer than 6 examinees may not be reported for privacy reasons. The Oklahoma State Department of Education requires two assessments for certification the OSAT which is usually taken prior to the internship and the PPAT. The PPAT performance assessment is taken during the internship, the culminating experience for initial certification educator prior to program completion. Advanced certification candidates take the appropriate exams during their program prior to or upon completion.
Yes! The State of Oklahoma requires school principals to observe their teachers every year and rate them on teaching ability. OU Teacher Education graduates are highly rated whether principals choose to use the Marzano Teacher Evaluation (average score of 3.71 in spring 2021) or the Tulsa Teacher Leader Evaluation (average score of 3.68 in spring 2021, with scores above 3 indicating successful performance).
No First Year Teacher data from 2023 were collected due to the State Department of Education not sharing teacher data with OEQA.
Yes! Case studies* conducted in the classrooms of OU Teacher Education graduates consistently indicate a positive impact on P-12 learning and development.
*Given that the state doesn’t provide this data, we draw on a variety of data to assess the impact of our completers on P-12 student learning and development, classroom instruction, and schools. These include (a) direct measures of student attainment, namely student scores on benchmark assessments and State-mandated examinations, (b) case studies of completer impact across grades and subjects for which we prepare candidates, (c) observation ratings from proprietary teacher observation protocols, and (d) employer satisfaction surveys.
Completer satisfaction with their preparation as relevant and effective is assessed with a completer satisfaction survey. These data paint a consistently favorable picture of completer impact on P-12 student learning and development. Employer and completers surveys demonstrated high degrees of satisfaction in each group, observation scores from the various protocols demonstrated that all completers perform at an acceptable level, and all examples in the collection of completer case studies demonstrated positive impact on P-12 student learning.
In regard to direct measures of student impact, for all grades for which data were available, Math Benchmark scores stayed consistent across the academic year at all grades and DRA scores indicated that fewer students were reading below grade level at the end of the year compared to the beginning of the year, which was consistent with the previous year. We are in the process of collecting and analyzing new data sets for Spring 2024 to make available for Fall 2024.
100%. All of our graduates who seek jobs as teachers are hired.
The Oklahoma State School Board Association (OSSBA, 2022) reported 1,019 teaching vacancies as of August 2022. Further, 4,405 emergency certifications have been issued for the 2022-2023 academic year as of March of 2023, a new record for the state for this temporary certificate only provided at administrator request when the school does not have a certified applicant. The intensity of the teacher shortage is felt in Oklahoma’s rural, urban, and suburban districts alike. There is an incredible need for teachers and specialists at advanced levels in all areas in the state of Oklahoma. The Oklahoma SDE Supply & Demand Study is available here. As evidenced in the report, all certification areas are in great need, initial and advanced.
University of Oklahoma’s completers have ample employment opportunities in their fields of study across the U.S. and beyond, however. In addition to Oklahoma-based employers, our graduates are actively sought by districts in Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Kansas, New Mexico, Texas with employers from each of these states attending the Educator Job Fair.
In the past we have received employment data for those who accept employment in Oklahoma public schools via the Data Governance Council for initial and advanced level completers. However, it is more difficult to track those who seek employment out of state or outside public-school settings. Currently we are still waiting for this data to be provided.
As calculated in the most recent report from Fiscal Year 2020, the current default rate for University of Oklahoma is 0% with only one borrower in default.
