Nevada waives teacher testing

Cy Ryan and Emily Richmond

Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2002 | 9:37 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Nevada school districts will be able to hire experienced teachers from 28 states without requiring them to pass any of the three proficiency examinations.

The state Department of Education has determined that the tests given in the 28 states are equivalent to the tests required in Nevada and has granted full reciprocity, said Keith Rheault, deputy superintendent of public instruction.

That means teachers certified in those states who have three years' experience can teach in Nevada without retaking the tests.

Those states are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia.

"It could certainly make recruiting easier," George Ann Rice, associate superintendent of human resources for the Clark County School District, said this morning. She said she expected to receive a copy of the reciprocity guidelines today.

Clark County has hired more than 1,800 teachers in the past year and needs 1,600 more by August, Rice said. Student enrollment is up nearly 37 percent in five years, and district officials expect the speedy growth rate to continue.

The number of licensed personnel in the district has grown 35 percent since 1996, to more than 14,000 employees, according to a district report.

Rheault pointed out New York, California and Illinois are among those where teachers have already cleared their tests. Clark County recruits teachers from more than 30 states and has had particular success in Chicago so far this year, Rice said.

"I think it's because of their particularly harsh winter," Rice said. "It may have made Nevada even more attractive."

But teachers coming from such states as Idaho, Iowa, Wyoming, South Dakota, Utah and Washington will still be required to pass all three tests in basic skills, principles of learning and teaching and the subject matter they teach.

Some of the states require teachers to take one or two of the examinations. Teachers from those states would have to take only the examination in Nevada that is not required in the other states. The tests will be waived for teachers who have valid out-of-state licenses and three years' experience in full-time teaching, administering or providing other educational services.