In addition, finding a standardized test that focuses specifically on a state's standards may be difficult. California is now using one, and the company that developed it has appended new sections that are to match the recently approved California English language arts and math standards. The teachers of children are also now being held to state-determined standards of preparation. This recent movement, which began around the same time as Goals 2000, focused first on basic skills tests for teachers in reading, writing, and mathematics. However, the certifying of teachers in general has a long history in the United States.
All states have some kind of criteria or expectations for certification of their teachers.
Most have formalized these into actual standards or expectations of what teachers need to know. Although the standards vary from state to state, there are commonalities. These two requirements for teacher preparation may be fulfilled by simply completing course work or by taking teacher preparation exit tests before credentials are awarded. In California, for example, the Reading Instruction Comprehensive Assessment was recently introduced to ensure that all teachers have the same core of knowledge when they begin to teach. Many states now are concerned, however, that new teachers need more time in the classroom before full credentialing takes place.