Virginia Teacher Requirements

Requirements For Obtaining a Virginia Teacher License

Below are the requirements necessary to become a Virginia Teacher.

• Bachelor’s degree and the proper number of credit hours in your field; the necessary number of hours will vary
• Completion of a state-approved teacher education program
• Completion of the two Praxis exams
• Experience report
• Emergency first aid training
• Certification on child abuse intervention training

Exams to Complete For Your Virginia Teacher License

• Praxis basic skills test
• Praxis core area assessment

Requirements For Renewing Your Virginia Teacher License

• 270 professional development hours to complete in the ten years your license is valid; one college semester hour equals thirty hours

Who Provides Help For Attaining Your Certification?

The Virginia Department of Education Teacher and Administrator Department will help you attain your certificate to teach people in the commonwealth.

Standards For Your Bachelor’s Degree

You will require a bachelor’s degree to teach in Virginia, but the courses you will need when teaching varies surrounding the subject area you will support. The prerequisite hours you would have to complete will vary on whatever you wish to teach:

• An elementary school teacher must complete a liberal arts or sciences degree.
• A secondary English or language arts teacher must have twelve credit hours for literature, six hours for language, six more hours for composition, and three oral language study hours.
• A secondary mathematics degree should have thirty-six credit hours divided into various math fields like algebra, geometry, computer science, calculus, and statistics.
• Secondary or social science teachers must major in history or political science, plus nine hours in geography and six hours in economics. Any history studies you complete must include points on Virginia state history.
• Science teachers must have a bachelor’s degree in one’s preferred teaching area with thirty-two or more credit hours in one’s field. You can find separate endorsements for biology, chemistry, physics, and earth sciences.

Completing Your State Teacher’s Education Program

All prospective teachers must complete a teacher education program supported by the commonwealth. Although an out-of-state program may also be accepted if it meets the same standards used in Virginia, multiple colleges and universities support these programs.

The teacher education program you experience will include in-person instruction and observation on operating a teaching environment. You can use your lessons in the program to identify unique opportunities for development and growth. A tutor educator will help you review your work in how you establish lesson plans and assessment points. You will also learn how to orchestrate a class and support students who may need additional help in their studies.

Competency Points For Study

All educators in Virginia must complete the necessary points for study to succeed. There are multiple domains for competency for people to complete, including the following:

• Focus on the study area one wishes to teach.
• The concepts and principles of learning, including how well a teacher can lead students in understanding the study area for teaching
• Recognizing the physical, social, and emotional needs that children have for their educational purposes
• Understanding relationships between teachers, students, and families, and recognizing how people can build upon those relationships and create encouraging environments for learning
• Concepts for learning and identifying exceptional students or those who need additional assistance

All teachers must complete these points when training for one’s license. Your teacher’s program can help you review what you can do to satisfy the students’ intellectual and emotional needs when learning new and unique concepts in the classroom.

Tests To Complete

All teachers in Virginia must complete the necessary certification tests. The tests available for completion come from the Praxis system. The Praxis testing system focuses on two separate points:

• Core Skills

The first Praxis test to complete involves your core skills. You will require scores of 150 for math, 156 for reading, and 162 for writing.

• Content Area

The second Praxis exam focuses on the content area you wish to teach. There are separate assessments available for early education, elementary teaching, and various middle and secondary education points.

Some of the content area Praxis tests focus on reading activities. You can complete a test surrounding how to support reading for those with visual impairments or learning disabilities. The test surrounding reading for those with visual impairments includes a test of braille proficiency.

Other Things Necessary For Your Application

You will also require the following points surrounding your application:

• A report on your prior experience in teaching
• Office transcripts from all schools you attended
• Certification of the completion of training on child abuse intervention and identification
• Emergency first aid, CPR, and AED training confirmation
• Verification from any colleges you attended

You can submit all of these items alongside your nonrefundable application fee to the commonwealth to complete the application process. You will require $50 for the application, but that fee rises to $75 if you are from outside the commonwealth.

How Long Does Your License Last?

Your license will be valid for ten years. You can renew the license on the same year when it expires or after January 1 of the year when your license is set to expire.

Requirements For Renewing Your Virginia Teacher License

You must complete the requirements for renewing your license in Virginia if you wish to teach in the commonwealth. These requirements include completing 270 hours of professional development activities.

One semester hour will equal thirty hours of work. One clock or contact hour for work is good for one hour of development work.

The Virginia Department of Education’s license department will help you with the renewal process.

Your renewal studies can entail work surrounding your content area and any unique fields you wish to complete. You can also complete pedagogical studies surrounding your field as necessary.

Resources

https://www.doe.virginia.gov/teaching/educator_preparation/index.shtml – Virginia educator preparation program

https://www.doe.virginia.gov/teaching/educator_preparation/college_programs/colleges.shtml – Teacher education programs in Virginia

https://www.ets.org/praxis/va/requirements/ – Praxis testing requirements in Virginia

https://www.doe.virginia.gov/teaching/licensure/ – Documentation necessary for your Virginia application