State certification tests for teachers in Alabama have been temporarily lowered in an attempt to get more teachers into classrooms.
The Alabama Board of Education adopted a temporary measure on Tuesday that would create a sliding scale to compensate for lower Praxis certification exam scores in higher grades.
In locations where there is a significant shortage of teachers, a waiver mechanism is in place so that graduates with lower test scores may teach temporarily but must ultimately pass the exam to acquire a permanent certificate of certification.
Efforts are being made to address a teacher shortage in the state. School will begin in just a few weeks, and state superintendent Eric Mackey said that some districts had no candidates for open positions that have been advertised.