Become a Teacher in Kentucky
KENTUCKY DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
300 Sower Blvd., 5th Floor
Frankfort, KY 40601
(502) 564-3141
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Steps to Becoming a Teacher in Kentucky
Important Note: Education licensure requirements, statistics and other information are subject to change. Teach.com makes its best effort to keep content accurate; however, the official sources are the state education departments. Please confirm licensing requirements with your state before applying for licensure or renewal. (Last update: 04/26/2020)
All states require at least a bachelor’s degree to teach. Certification to teach elementary school (grades 1-6) requires coursework in all subject areas taught in elementary school. Kentucky requires that middle school (grades 5-9) teachers have a major in either English, math, social studies, or science.
Kentucky also requires a period of supervised student teaching. Specialty subject areas such as music and art may have additional specific requirements. Contact the Kentucky Education Professional Standards Board for more information.
Teacher certification programs can be taken online or on-site. They typically include an educational theory and classroom skills seminar and a fieldwork component of student teaching in the area. A list of accredited teacher preparation programs in Kentucky can be found on Kentucky’s Education Professional Standards Board webpage.
Most states require tests to show competency in basic skills as well as in the desired subject area. Kentucky uses the PPST (Pre Professional Skills Test) for basic skills (required for entry into some teacher preparation programs), and both the Praxis II: Subject Tests and Praxis II PLT (Principles of Learning and Teaching) test for subject area competence.
You can learn more about the Praxis exams by visiting Teach.coms' Ultimate Guide to the Praxis Exams and read more about teacher certification tests on Teach.com.
Initial Teaching Certifications
To earn your Kentucky teaching credential you will have to complete required undergraduate coursework and standardized tests, as well as an accredited certification program.
Kentucky issues three levels of certification:
- Rank III is the provisional certificate issued to new teachers with a bachelor’s degree.
- Rank II requires completing a master’s degree.
- Rank I requires a masters and 30 semester hours of graduate credit or NBPT standards.
Learn more about getting your teaching credential on Teach.com.
Discover an 8-week Online Teaching Short Course from Harvard's Bok Center
Higher Education Teaching Certificate
The Higher Education Teaching Certificate online short course aims to give you the opportunity to engage deeply with and reflect on your teaching practices, portfolio, and journey in the higher education (HE) field. Loosely based on the in-person seminar program currently offered by Harvard’s Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, and in association with HarvardX, this course gives you the opportunity to explore the focus areas of pedagogy, course and assessment design, professional communication, language and culture of the classroom, and reflections on teaching – entirely online, from anywhere in the world.
Alternative Certification in Kentucky
Kentucky offers many different options for alternative teacher certification, including special options for career professionals, experienced academics, and veterans.
Kentucky Teacher Certification Information & Links
Transferring Your Certification
Certification Reciprocity in Kentucky
Interstate reciprocity is a program that allows teachers certified in one state to teach in another state. To find out which other state teaching licenses can be used in Kentucky, visit the Teach.com reciprocity page. Or, for more information click on the Kentucky Department of Education’s Professional Development page.
To find out what other state teaching licenses can be used in Kentucky, check out our Teacher Certification Reciprocity page on Teach.com.
Career Advancement
Professional Development for Kentucky Teachers
The Educational Professional Standards Board is responsible for managing certification renewal and teacher assessment. Kentucky requires at least four days of each school term to be used as Professional Development days. Kentucky’s Teacher Internship Program (KTIP) involves monitoring and performance assessment of first-year teachers to ensure that they are making progress in teaching to state standards.
To advance from one certification rank to the next, teachers are required to complete either a certain number of graduate credits or the Continuing Education Option (CEO), an independent study plan that teachers create based on the needs of their schools or districts.
See the Kentucky Department of Education’s Professional Development page for more information.
Benefits of a Master's Degree in Kentucky
It is no longer enough to only have years of experience teaching. After No Child Left Behind and other academic quantification measures, teachers are almost solely evaluated on their success in the classroom. A master’s degree in the field of education provides more educational theory and classroom skills, as well as more hands-on student teaching experience with a mentor.
After a master’s program, you may be able to achieve better results in the classroom and have more job security and higher pay.
Learn more about the benefits of a Master of Arts in Teaching vs. Master of Education on Teach.com.
Higher Education Teaching Certificate
The Higher Education Teaching Certificate online short course aims to give you the opportunity to engage deeply with and reflect on your teaching practices, portfolio, and journey in the higher education (HE) field. Loosely based on the in-person seminar program currently offered by Harvard’s Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, and in association with HarvardX, this course gives you the opportunity to explore the focus areas of pedagogy, course and assessment design, professional communication, language and culture of the classroom, and reflections on teaching – entirely online, from anywhere in the world.
Jobs, Benefits, and Opportunities for Teachers in Kentucky
Kentucky Teaching Jobs
The Kentucky Educator Placement Service (KEPS) runs a simple job search engine that allows teachers and administrators to search for job postings. There is an advanced search function that lets users search by grade level, region and subject.
Kentucky Teacher Salary and Incentives
In Kentucky, teachers earned an average of $53,000 to $56,000 depending n grade level, according to 2018 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Salary in Kentucky varies by district. For district-specific information, check out the Certified & Classified Staff Data Reports from the Kentucky Department of Education. Learn more about
Learn more about teacher salaries on Teach.com.
Kentucky Teacher Benefits and Retirement
Kentucky teachers can retire at age 60 with 5 years of service or any age with 27 years of service. Additional benefits Kentucky teachers receive include health care coverage, annual and sick leave and vacation days.
Learn more about benefits for teachers on Teach.com or at the Teachers Retirement System Kentucky.
Kentucky Teacher Shortage Areas
A teacher shortage occurs when there are not enough teachers in key subject areas, which has been partly caused by years of teacher layoffs during the Great Recession, a growing student population and fewer people entering teacher preparation programs, according to the Learning Policy Institute. The following is a list of teacher shortage areas in Kentucky for the 2020-21 school year, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
- Academically Advanced
- Art and Music
- Career and Technical Education
- Early Childhood
- English as a Second Language
- Health and Physical Fitness
- Language Arts
- Math
- Science
- Social Studies
- Special Education
- Guidance Counseling
- Library/Media Specialist
- World Languages
Financial Aid in Kentucky
Kentucky residents are eligible for the Applegate/Jackson/Parks Future Teacher Scholarship as well as the TEACH Grant, a grant which gives financial aid to students in return for an agreement to teach in a high-need school.
Learn more about how to finance your Master's degree on Teach.com.
Information last updated: May 2020