Information on Michigan academic standards and instructional resources.
Responsible for providing final decisions in administrative appeals to MDE.
Learn more about the MDE office responsible for providing leadership in curriculum and instruction that provides students with greater choices to prepare for success.
Early learning and development program resources for all children, birth to age eight, especially those in highest need.
Resources for educator certification, recognition programs, evaluation, and workforce research.
Resources related to financial and pupil accounting and auditing.
Options available for Michigan students that provide unique learning opportunities.
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Resources for supporting special education in Michigan.
Michigan has an innovative and comprehensive system of assessments to measure student achievement in learning our state content standards.
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*For additional information on educator evaluations and ratings, please visit the educator evaluations website or email questions to MDE-EdEvals@Michigan.gov.
The National Board Teaching Certificate Programs and Teacher Leader programs are feebased programs. Additionally, Advanced Professional Teaching Certificate has a stateissued application fee of $210 and five-year renewal fees of $160.
Holders of these certificates types may select to obtain the Advanced Professional Teaching Certificate. However, unlike the Permanent, Life or Continuing certificates, this certificate requires criteria for renewal every five years. Obtaining this certificate will put the holder on the renewal track requiring 150 professional learning hours every five years.
Michigan’s educator evaluation law (MCL 380.1249) requires an evaluation for “an individual who has a valid Michigan teaching certificate or authorization…who is employed, or contracted for, by a school district, intermediate school district or public school academy; and who is assigned… to deliver direct instruction to pupils in any of grades K to 12 as a teacher of record.” Such an individual must receive an evaluation and be rated as described above to meet the eligibility requirement to apply for the Advanced Professional Teaching Certificate.
In order to enable teachers who are not required to be evaluated under MCL 380.1249 to qualify for the Advanced Professional Teaching Certificate, employers (including nonpublic schools and early childhood settings) may opt-in to the requirements of educator evaluation law to provide annual year-end evaluation labels to all certificate holders. If an employer does not opt-in to the requirements of MCL 380.1249 for teachers who do not fall under this law, those teachers will not be able to meet the eligibility requirements to apply for the Advanced Professional Teaching Certificate and will need to continue to renew their professional certificate.
The legal language for progressing to an Advanced Professional Teaching Certificate states that (in addition to other criteria) an individual must be “…rated as highly effective …for 3 out of the 5 most recent school years [and]…has not been rated ineffective …within the 5 most recent school years.” An educator will not be able to progress to the Advanced Professional Teaching Certificate if he/she has an ineffective rating. Put simply, the ratings default to the lower rating.
Additional information regarding National Board Certification and how it is recognized in Michigan is available in this guidance.
