Certified by Christmas: How to Get Certified to Teach by Christmas
Imagine giving yourself a holiday gift you can enjoy thought out the year. If your goal is to become a teacher, we’ll show how you can earn your teacher certification before the holidays. It’s possible if you act now, adopt a focused timeline, and follow a streamlined certification path. Below, read how you can make it happen with American Board.
Get Certified to Teach by Christmas
1. Pick the right program and pace. Some teacher certification paths take years, especially university-based programs. Alternative certification programs, however, can often be completed much more quickly. This is particularly true of programs that are available in an online format. With American Board’s online teacher certification program, many teacher candidates complete the program in one to two months. If you start right away and pace your coursework aggressively, you may well cross the finish line by year’s end.
2. Work with backward time planning. Start by marking your target certification or exam deadlines (for example, the last testing date in November/December). Count backwards for course modules, study periods, and exam prep weeks. American Board only requires two final exams, a pedagogy test and a subject-area test. The pedagogy exam can be taken at home, but the subject-area exam must be taken at a Pearson testing center. For that reason, people looking to certify quickly should get their subject-area exam scheduled to ensure availability.
3. Maximize downtime. When professional work eases up before the holidays, channel that slower pace into moving through coursework. Each time you complete a module, you move closer to certification.
4. Utilize your peers. Don’t study in isolation; instead, connect with others on online forums or study groups. Engaging with others can offer valuable study strategies and insight from those progressing through the same program. That’s why American Board offers a Facebook Forum where candidates can connect and share ideas.
5. Track your milestones weekly. Track your milestones weekly to stay focused and consistent. Set clear goals for courses, quizzes, study hours, or mock tests, and record your progress at the end of each week. Establish a study routine you can stick to—treat it like an appointment with your future career and make it non-negotiable.
Why it Matters
The U.S. currently faces a massive teacher shortage: about nearly 500,000 teaching positions nationally are either unfilled or staffed by educators not fully certified. That means school systems are actively seeking qualified candidates right now. More importantly, that means that unless more people turn to teaching, students will continue to face larger class sizes, fewer course options, and reduced access to the skilled educators they deserve—ultimately limiting their opportunities to learn, grow, and succeed.
If you’ve been postponing your move into education, the current season could be your turning point. Start your journey today, aim for full certification by year’s end, and begin January with momentum. Interestingly, many schools have multiple hiring seasons, one being during the winter as they work to staff their classrooms for second semester.
Ready to make this holiday count? Begin your certification journey now and become a certified teacher. Visit AmericanBoard.org and select your state to get started. Questions? Ask our live chat team, available on the website.
