Do states’ add-on endorsement policies provide shortcuts to early childhood education licensure?

ABSTRACT This article explores whether states’ add-on endorsement policies provide shortcuts to early childhood education licensure. The following questions are pursued: What requirements must licensed teachers meet to add an ECE endorsement? What data do states report on the number of add-ons awarded, in total and in ECE, yearly? What terms do states use to refer to an official authorization to teach? Results indicate that shortened pathways to ECE licensure – licensure testing only and licensure testing plus 6–13 credits of coursework – are available for ELED licensees in 19 states, special education licensees in 16, and all others in 12. Add-on endorsements account for a substantial number of new in-state teaching credentials in the three states that reported such data: Texas (46%), Pennsylvania (19%), and Indiana (12%). In Pennsylvania and Indiana, add-ons constituted 7% and 5%, of all new in-state ECE credentials awarded, respectively. Nearly half of the states in the nation refer to a state authorization to teach as certification, the other near half as license, and two as credential. Now is an opportune time for early educational organizations to articulate what preparation requirements are suitable for an ECE add-on endorsement.