1820s to the 1900s:  Movement Towards the County System

          From the 1820s begin a movement towards county control of teacher certification, which became the dominant feature across the USA by 1860.  The impetus for this change came from “growing recognition by the public of the need for competent examiners, not locally available, and for opportunity to select candidates from a broader geographic area” (Kinney, 1964, p. 47).  At the same time, there was a shift from oral to written examination, with nearly all states putting in place general competencies and subjects to be examined (Sharpe, 1984; Angus, 2001). 

          However, in the New England states like Massachusetts, “the predominance of the town and the influence of the democratic tradition were too strong to permit” a similar shift in authority (Kinney, 1964, p. 45).  No county system developed in Massachusetts, and the power to certify teachers remained tightly in the hands of local officials until 1954.

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