In 1876 a seventeen-year-old named Ella Pullman sat a Saturday examination in an Iowa courthouse and walked out licensed to teach for six months. The episode tracks the teaching credential from county exams through the long state takeover, the wartime flood of emergency certificates, and today's tiers of licenses, and asks whether the certificate certifies anything that shows up in a classroom.
Who's who
- Ella PullmanIowa teacher whose preserved certificates, 1876-1901, illustrate county examinations
- Anthony C. LaBueScholar whose 1960 history traces the state takeover of certification
- David L. AngusHistorian co-author of Professionalism and the Public Good
- Jeffrey MirelHistorian who completed Angus's study of certification
- Thomas KaneEconomist who studied teacher certification in New York City
- Jonah RockoffEconomist who studied teacher certification in New York City
- Douglas StaigerEconomist who studied teacher certification in New York City
Where it happens
- Guthrie County, IowaWhere Pullman earned a second-class certificate in 1876
- New YorkAuthorized statewide certificates in 1843
- New York City+13 more episodesSetting of the study of certification and effectiveness
Timeline
- 1834Pennsylvania first requires future teachers to pass an examination
- 1843New York authorizes statewide teaching certificates
- April 1876Ella Pullman earns a six-month certificate in Iowa
- 1937Forty-one states issue licenses exclusively at the state level
- 1940-1945Emergency certificates rise from 2,305 to 69,423 by 1943-44
- 1987National Board for professional teaching standards founded
Still debated
Historians dispute whether centralizing certification was quality control or professional capture. Research on whether certification predicts effectiveness is mixed, with the New York City study finding small differences, though other studies show a weak but real signal.