For-profit alternative certification pathways account for over 70% of Texas educator preparation enrollment while overall completion fell 14% over a decade¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · qualitative r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2025 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Enrollment in for-profit alternative certification pathways accounts for over 70% of all Texas EPP enrollment, and while overall enrollment nearly tripled over the most recent 10 years, overall program completion fell by 14%. → Bland 2025

Evidence¶

Bland 2025¶

Bland, J. A., Ralph, K., Wei, W., Wang, V., Wojcikiewicz, S. K., & Wechsler, M. E. (2025). Investing in a high-quality teacher workforce: Lessons from Texas teacher preparation programs. Learning Policy Institute. https://doi.org/10.54300/871.327

q2 · i? · qualitative · r2

Report analysis of Title II data (Figure 1, 2013–14 through 2022–23). It reports that "enrollment in for-profit alternative certification pathways has accounted for over 70% of all enrollment", that overall enrollment nearly tripled, and that completion fell by 14% over the same span.

"enrollment in for-profit alternative certification pathways has accounted for over 70% of all enrollment in educator preparation programs in Texas."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Alternative certification enrollment growth in Texas did not increase teacher supply because completion rates were low — related
• Teachers prepared through traditional certification pathways are retained at higher rates over 5 years than alternatively certified or noncertified Texas teachers — related
• For-profit alternative certification pathways in Texas increased enrollment by more than 500% over 5 years without increasing program completers — related
• Students of university-prepared Texas teachers gained 2.2 additional months of 9th-grade ELA learning and 1.8 additional months of 9th-grade math learning versus students of alternatively prepared teachers — related