Overview of Teacher Certification
Teacher certification is a license to teach, and is required by the public schools in Georgia. Each state has similar requirements for teachers, and a fully-certified teacher in one state can easily gain full certification in another state. In Georgia, the Professional Standards Commission (PSC) is responsible for certifying and classifying all professional employees in the public schools.
There are several ways to obtain teacher certification. Georgia Tech students will enter teacher certification programs after graduating from Tech, but it is possible for students to begin working toward certification while completing their Tech programs. Some certification programs are full-time academic programs culminating in master’s degrees, while others are part-time on-the-job training, and there are many options that offer flexibility and can be tailored to the individual prospective teacher’s preferences.
The basic requirements for becoming a teacher include completing a bachelor’s degree with a cumulative GPA of at least a 2.5, and passing or exempting the Georgia Assessment for the Certification of Educators (GACE) Basic Skills test. This test can be exempted by submitting acceptable SAT, ACT, or GRE scores. For details, visit the GACE web site. The next step is to choose and complete an approved certification program. Students can choose from “traditional” (link to “traditional routes” page) and “alternative” (link to “alternative routes” page) routes. An overview of these choices and requirements is available from the PSC.