Four levels of credentials will be developed that span the increasingly more complex set of skills and knowledge that Basic Skills instructors need to be effective in the classroom.  The competencies in each level reflect Bloom's Taxonomy and represent a progression from knowledge and comprehension to application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.

The Level 1 Credential will address the core knowledge that new instructors need during their initial teaching experience.

The Level 2 Credential will address the competencies that instructors acquire as they gain more experience and opportunities to expand and apply their skills in the Basic Skills classroom.

The Level 3 Credential will address higher level competencies that require instructors to analyze their teaching practices.

The Level 4 Credential will recognize attainment of the full range of instructor competencies and will require instructors to synthesize and evaluate their performance and share their expertise through such venues as mentoring, conducting training, and developing instructional products.

As a result of the differences among the levels, the requirements for earning a credential will vary somewhat among the four levels.  In all cases, however, the teacher standards and competencies for each level will be used to determine the most appropriate method for documenting evidence of attainment. 

In a competency-based credential, the evidence rests not only with “did you learn the knowledge or skill?” but with “can you apply it?” For each of the teacher competencies at the four levels, a system of evidence will be developed -- objective data that will measure and verify the attainment of each competency (or group of competencies).  Some initial work in this area has been completed through ABSPD.  This evidence system will include (1) attainment methods and (2) documentation criteria to verify attainment.  This evidence system will form the framework of a teacher portfolio that will include competency attainment documentation. 

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Sample criteria that might be used to document competency attainment include:

• participation in professional development activities (e.g., workshops, conferences, college courses, etc.) followed by a reflective summary of how the content was put into practice;

• instructor observation by a trained observer using a developed rubric;

• participation in a study circle followed by a reflective summary;

• summaries of practitioner research projects;

• student and/or instructor records;

• developed lesson plans, curricula, etc.; and

• summaries of mentoring, delivered professional development, etc.

It is currently anticipated that Regional Review Committees will be created to review submitted portfolios using scoring rubrics to ensure reliability. Preliminary recommendations on these requirements were developed by the Credentialing Committee for Levels 1 and 2 and were presented to the State Office and the State Basic Skills Advisory Board.  The draft credentialing process and evidence criteria for the Level 1 credential have been placed online for public comment. 

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