Teaching Math in Rhode Island

Rhode Island teachers can benefit from several different routes to certification, teacher salaries in excess of the national average and extremely high per-student expenditures totaling in at more than $16,000 (in 2012-13). Rhode Island may be geographically small, but it’s doing big things when it comes to creating a sound public education infrastructure.

Math Teacher Certification in Rhode Island

Math Teaching Qualifications

All Rhode Island teachers are required to meet the following criteria in order to qualify for certification: bachelor’s degree, completion of teacher preparation program and successful completion of the requisite basic skills and subject area competency examinations.

Credentials & Exams

• Certificate of Eligibility for Employment (CEE): This three-year license is issued to prospective teachers who have met the basic requirements for certification but are not employed in a Rhode Island school or district. Upon securing a teaching position, candidates may then apply for a Professional Transitional Certificate.
• Math Certification: Interested teachers can also take advantage of Rhode Island’s mathematics certification process. There are three different options, with each option containing its own list of requirements.
  • Option 1: Middle/Secondary Grades Mathematics (Only for teaching one level).
  • Option 2: Extend an Elementary Education Teacher certificate.
  • Option 3: Extend a Secondary Grades Mathematics Certificate.
• Reciprocity: Teachers who have completed an approved teacher education program in another state in the past five years or have been issued a full teaching certificate in another state are eligible to apply for a Rhode Island teaching certificate through reciprocity. The teacher must demonstrate that he or she meets the Rhode Island certification and experience requirements.

Alternative Certification for Math Teachers

Prospective teachers who have graduated from an accredited college or university (with a bachelor’s degree in a subject other than education) and who have not pursued a traditional teaching certificate may be eligible to apply for a Rhode Island alternative program certificate. Qualifying alternative certification programs at a college or university, professional organization or private institution must be comparable to that of a traditional teacher education program.