Prospective teachers are recruited to meet those specific demands. Teacher preparation programs are tailor-made. Programs are specifically designed to meet the preparation needs of individuals who already have at least a bachelor's degree and, in many cases, experience in other occupations, to teach in specific areas and in specific subjects. Programs are job-specific. Rather than train people to teach who may or may not ever go into teaching, alternative route programs recruit individuals for specific teaching positions and place prospective teachers in those jobs early in their training programs.
Prospective teachers work with mentor teachers.
Candidates usually go through their program in cohorts, not as isolated individuals. Most of these programs are collaborative efforts among state departments of education whose responsibility it is to license teachers, colleges and universities that historically have had the responsibility for educating and training teachers, and school districts that actually hire teachers. Not only has the number of these state programs grown substantially, but also the quality of such programs has improved significantly since 1983, when the National Center for Education Information first started its annual tracking of this issue. NCEI identified 12 states that have exemplary alternative teacher certification routes. Candidates for these programs pass a rigorous screening process, such as passing tests, interviews, demonstrated mastery of content.