Like many states, Washington faces a growing teacher shortage. The need is particularly great in bilingual education, math, science, English language development, and special education. At the same time, the state’s student population is considerably more diverse than its teacher workforce.

To address these issues, state education leaders considered encouraging limited certificated teachers—who can teach in classrooms under certain conditions—to become fully certificated. The state partnered with us to study data from an online 2017 survey of Washington’s 1,834 limited certificated teachers to assess their interest in full certification, the barriers they face in doing so, and the supports they need.

We found that:

• More than two-thirds of limited certificated teachers are interested in becoming fully certificated
• Of those interested, just under two-thirds are interested in teaching a subject area with a staffing shortage
• Substantial barriers to full certification include time and financial concerns
• Of those interested, teachers of color identified a broader range of needed supports than white teachers

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