TEACHER CERTIFICATION ASSESSMENT FEE S.B. 358 (S-2):
SUMMARY OF SUBSTITUTE BILL
IN COMMITTEE
Senate Bill 358 (Substitute S-2)
Senate Committee: Appropriations
CONTENT
The bill would amend the Revised School Code to do the following with respect to requirements for, and the issuance of, teacher certificates and licenses:
-- Remove the cap on the fees for the basic skills examination, elementary certification examination, and the subject area examination for the Michigan Test for Teacher Certification (MTTC).
The bill would strike the cap on the amount that can be charged for the basic skills examination, elementary certification examination, and subject are examination. This would allow the State to set the testing fee rate at the amount that would pay for updates made by the testing vendor and for Department of Education oversight.
MCL 380.1531i
BACKGROUND
The current fee cap is $50 for the basic skills examination and $75 for the elementary certification examination and subject area examination. This cap has been in place since it was established in 1992 and has not been increased. Currently, Michigan has the lowest teacher certification fee cap in the country. There is only one vendor that offers the examination at the current rate, which limits the bargaining power of the State to increase the quality of the examination.
In FY 2013-14, 11,200 basic skills examinations were taken and 14,500 elementary certification and subject area examinations were taken. The number of examinations being taken in a given year has declined over the decade. In FY 2014-15, the Michigan Department of Education received $1.8 million for MTTC assessments to move from providing teaching certificates to individuals who are "minimally acceptable teacher candidates" to those who are "adequately prepared to be effective teachers". The appropriations covered changes to seven of the approximately 72 MTTC assessments. The Department has additional changes that need to be made to the assessments, including: updating the content area questions, adding constructed answer responses, including questions that involve real teacher situations, and allowing vendors to develop computer-based tests.
The Department has indicated that assessment fees need to be increased or the Department needs to receive additional State appropriations in order to revise all of the assessments in a timely manner. Currently, the Department receives $5 from each examination, which funds 1.0 FTE position that oversees the MTTC.
FISCAL IMPACT
The bill would result in additional revenue to the Department if and when the Department increased fees, but in an indeterminate amount. Any revenue raised by teacher testing fees is statutorily required to be spent solely for administrative expenses the Department incurs in implementing the teacher certification program. The additional revenue could be used to enter into contracts with vendors to provide assessments that would be designed to indicate which candidates are adequately prepared to be effective teachers. The Department would first need to seek contracts through an RFP process in order to establish the total costs for updating the assessments, and then would have to establish a new assessment fee to be paid by prospective teachers.
The costs for some subject areas might be greater than the costs for other areas. An example of a subject area that is more costly is American Sign Language, which would include the assessment of signing competency. Depending on the costs, with the enactment of this bill, the Department could either raise the fee for an individual subject area or increase all the assessment fees. At this time, it is unclear whether the Department would need to increase the portion of the examination fee that goes to the Department in order to ensure that the assessments are being modified to Michigan standards.
The bill would have no fiscal impact on local school districts.
This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.