Although the licensure process can appear long and complex, there is no need for anxiety. If you are wondering how to become a teacher in North Carolina, you will first need to assess your current level of education and/or out-of-state licensure. There are two main levels of licensure for North Carolina teachers: the Initial Professional Licensure (IPL) and the Continuing Professional License (CPL). The Residency License (RL), a type of provisional license, may precede the IPL under certain circumstances.
The IPL is for teachers with fewer than 3 years of experience or for those who do not yet qualify for the CPL. The IPL is valid for a maximum of 3 years.
To obtain the IPL, prospective teachers must:
Once they have completed 3 years of teaching, IPL-certified teachers should graduate to the CPL by following the steps below.
The only real differences between the IPL and the CPL is that the CPL requires more experience, exams, and documentation. The CPL is valid for 5 years before an NC teaching license renewal is required.
To obtain the CPL, prospective professional educators must:
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There are 55 approved educator preparation programs in North Carolina at universities and adult education centers all around the state. You can find the full list of approved programs at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) website. They are classified as:
For people who hold degrees that are not in education, the most applicable options will be classified as NC Alternative Pathways or Alternative Pathways. For people still in undergraduate school, the best option is to complete an EPP along with your degree; usually this is embedded as part of an education major or minor. This traditional pathway will be classified as IHE and whatever type of university you attend (public, private, online, and in- or out-of-state).
Some notable universities offering EPPs or education degrees are Duke University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University, Wake Forest University, and East Carolina University. Notably, UNC has multiple highly-ranked campuses across the state.
One outstanding alternative option is a joint program by UNC-Chapel Hill and NC State called Pathway to Practice. This NC alternative pathway program is completely online, with admissions on a rolling basis and with candidates accepted into monthly cohorts. Pathway to Practice is designed to help teachers with residency licenses graduate to professional licensure. The education method is competency-based, with over 35 competencies addressed in an impressive, systemic approach to give teachers the tools to succeed in both qualifying exams and teaching practice. The entire program takes about 12 months and is $5000.
Other EPPs include public school systems, such as Guilford County Schools or Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, which offer 12- to 18- month teaching residencies that help you reach licensure while providing the schools with desperately-needed teachers in areas like math, English language arts, and science.
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Create AccountA bachelor's degree is the minimum level of education required to become a teacher in North Carolina. It is best to complete an education program during the baccalaureate rather than going the alternative route after graduation.
To obtain a Residency License, you must have completed 24 credit hours of coursework in your intended licensure area; for an Emergency License, you need 18 credit hours of coursework in your subject area. Alternatively, you must pass content area exams in those subjects.
License renewal requires continuing education. While 'continuing education' does not necessarily indicate an advanced degree, obtaining a master's or specialist degree in education or a related field is an excellent way to enhance your pedagogy and keep your license current.
There are various testing requirements for North Carolina teachers depending on the type of teaching licensure desired. All teachers must take a basic test of content knowledge and skill in addition to any tests that are specific to the subject, student population, and grade level they wish to teach.
Teachers may earn multiple certifications or just one. Currently, in several of North Carolina's large school districts, there is a great need for preschool teachers as well as teachers of math, science, and English language arts and reading (ELAR) at the middle school level.
Testing requirements are subject to change, and many have changed within the past five years, so it is important to stay up-to-date via the official North Carolina Department of Public Instruction website.
To become a teacher in the state of North Carolina, you will be required to pass the Praxis Core, which is an evaluation of basic content knowledge and skills in reading, writing, and math that all teachers must have as a baseline regardless of what subject or content area they wish to teach. The Praxis Core is taken as a foundational test and does not replace content-area tests (such as the Praxis II exams) or vice versa.
If you completed an education degree program in college, you will likely have already taken the Praxis Core as part of the program. The Core typically functions as a gateway into an education major or other teacher education program. If you are transitioning to education from another career, you will have to take the Praxis Core.
The Praxis Subject Assessment Exams, formerly known as the Praxis 2, are used to evaluate content knowledge and teaching skills for specific subjects. Pearson tests are also used for this purpose. Some of these content-area tests - for example, the Elementary Education Content Knowledge Test (CKT) - may seem very similar to the Core, but again, they cannot replace the Core or vice versa.
Subject Area Exams are required for world languages, such as Spanish (Praxis Spanish test) and French; for core subjects in middle school and above, such as science and math; for all categories of special education; for career and technical education; and for various subjects at the secondary level. Fortunately, the Educational Testing Service (ETS) provides a full list of required Praxis tests for North Carolina teachers.
Some required Praxis tests for North Carolina teachers are specific to one or a set of grade levels. To be licensed in Elementary Education K-6, for example, you must take the Elementary Education: Content Knowledge for Teaching Mathematics CKT Subtest, even though you would have already been tested for basic math skills in the Praxis Core Math.
Also, all aspiring teachers in North Carolina who wish to teach grades K-6 or Exceptional Children (gifted and talented) grades K-12 must take the Foundations of Reading test administered by Pearson. Like ETS exams, Pearson tests are available year-round. The Foundations of Reading test is 4 hours 15 minutes long and computer-based, with 100 multiple choice and 2 constructed response questions. The General Curriculum test was an additional requirement until 2019; that test is still available, but no longer required.
As mentioned earlier, additional exams are required for anyone wishing to obtain a North Carolina teaching license for special education. These are the Praxis Special Education exams. There are multiple different types of teaching licensure in special education, and each type of license requires a specific exam or set of exams particular to the population. For example, there is a license specifically designed for teachers of students with behavioral and emotional disorders; to obtain this teaching license, you must take the following Praxis Subject Area Exams:
Fundamental Subjects: Content Knowledge is required for all but three of North Carolina's special education teaching licenses.
Again, ETS has published a full, regularly updated list of the state's testing requirements on its official website.
North Carolina is unique in that the state does not require other certification requirements like background checks and fingerprinting. That said, be advised that most employers, whether at public or private K-12 schools, will require a background check and/or fingerprinting for the sake of child safety before hiring a teacher candidate.
The application process for professional licensure in North Carolina typically takes about 6 weeks. Once you have completed your required education (a bachelor's degree and EPP), then the application process will be short and simple, as you only need to submit the necessary documents and pay the application fee.
If you count the EPP as part of the process, then you should factor in 12 to 18 months for completion of the program.
Also, if you choose to use content area exams as qualifiers, then taking the exams (NTE or Praxis exam) will require forethought when it comes to scheduling, studying, and submitting Praxis scores in time for the application deadline.
Although North Carolina has had a number of alternative pathways to licensure in the past, several of them have been closed down recently, funneling all alternative license-seekers into the Residency License path.
The Residency License (RL) is the mode of NC alternative teacher certification for aspiring teachers who have not obtained certification via a traditional route. The RL is perfect for those who have completed a degree and have expertise in a field other than education or who are transitioning from another career. The RL applicant must:
The RL lasts for one year and may be renewed twice; teachers should use that time to upgrade their licensure to an IPL before the RL expires. After obtaining an IPL, teaching license renewal is contingent on graduating to the CPL.
Those who do not qualify for an RL may be granted an Emergency License or a Permit to Teach if requested by a Local Education Agency (LEA) that wishes to hire them. Employment in NC schools is a requisite for these licenses. Both are temporary (one year) and must be upgraded as soon as possible; they are used for immediate, urgent assignments and are not intended to place a new hire in a professional teaching position. The NC State Board does stipulate that anyone in a professional educator position at an LEA must have a professional license. Again, aspiring teachers with any of the temporary licenses just described should quickly enroll in and complete an EPP to obtain permanent professional licensure before the temporary license expires.
Out-of-state teachers applying for North Carolina licensure must complete the same steps as in-state teachers to obtain the IPL or CPL, with the addition of official documentation from the state in which they completed their EPP and teaching experience.
For the IPL, you will need to have a verification letter sent to NCDPI from the state's department of education or licensing board where you finished an approved EPP.
For the CPL, an alternative to the NCSBE exams is to submit out-of-state licensure exams and evaluations if you completed an out-of-state EPP. You will need to submit effectiveness data (an official, signed performance evaluation) from the state where you taught in order to qualify for the CPL. Without effectiveness data, you will only be eligible for the IPL.
Out-of-state applicants must pass licensure exams with a score that meets or exceeds the recommended passing score (not the state's minimum required passing score).
North Carolina holds teaching license reciprocity with the following states:
The remaining states either do not have North Carolina teaching license reciprocity or have it on limited terms.
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, teaching jobs are growing across the nation at 7% for kindergarten, elementary, and middle school, and 8% for secondary school and special education, which is about as fast as average. Preschool teaching jobs are growing at 18%, a rate much faster than average. North Carolina is one of the top 15 states for the highest employment of teachers.
North Carolina's average teacher salary is somewhat above the national average salary. For teachers who do not work in special education, the median annual salaries are estimated to be the following:
Preschool: $30,680
Kindergarten: $49,540
Elementary: $50,130
Middle: $51,450
Secondary: $51,460
Special education teachers are, on average, paid a bit more:
Preschool: $54,120
Kindergarten and Elementary: $51,650
Middle: $52,970
Secondary: $52,910
Finally, teachers who specialize in career or technical education, only available at the middle and secondary levels, are also paid more than the average teacher:
Middle: $55,440
Secondary: $54,360
Katie Slaughter, M.A. has taught middle school science and math for over 6 years. She has helped lay a foundation for personalized learning in her school and has presented internationally about what she is doing in her classroom. She has successfully passed numerous Praxis exams. Katie completed a B.S. in Marine Science from Coastal Carolina University and an M.A. in Teaching from Georgetown College.
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