How to Become a Teacher in Rhode Island: Tests, Fees and Routes

By the Transforming Education editorial team. Every fact on this page was checked against the source linked beside it on November 7, 2026.

Note: The Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE), Educator Certification website could not be reached from our network on November 7, 2026, so the routes, license, renewal and background-check details on this page come from Rhode Island's administrative rules, 200-RICR-20-20-1, Regulations Governing the Certification of Educators in Rhode Island. Rules set the requirements but not always the current procedures or fees, so confirm both with the agency before you apply.

No degree yet: the traditional route

For high school students, college students and anyone without a bachelor's degree. You earn the degree and the teacher preparation in one program.

Rhode Island Approved Educator Preparation Program

Most new teachers earn full certification by completing a Rhode Island approved educator preparation program and meeting the other certification requirements, including the content tests for their certificate area. Teacher candidates must complete a one-year practical residency or its equivalent, such as 60 hours of field experience plus 24 weeks of full-time student teaching. The program must have been completed within the last 10 years, and graduates receive a 3-year Initial Educator Certificate.

1. Earn the degree required for your certificate area from a regionally accredited institution
2. Complete a Rhode Island approved educator preparation program, including a one-year practical residency or the equivalent
3. Pass the Rhode Island content tests for your certificate area
4. Apply to RIDE with official transcripts and the program's statement that you completed it
5. Submit official test score verification and attest to good moral character, disclosing employment, criminal and certification history
6. Pay the application fee ($100 for the first certificate area)

Source: rules.sos.ri.gov

Bachelor's in another field: the alternative route

For people who already hold a bachelor's degree in a subject other than education.

Alternate Route Preliminary Certificate

Career changers can teach while they train by enrolling in a Rhode Island approved alternate route program and accepting a job offer from a Rhode Island school district. Teaching candidates need a bachelor's degree, must pass all content tests and complete an intensive pre-service experience of at least 5 weeks, and then serve as teacher of record for at least 1 school year on an Alternate Route Preliminary Certificate that is valid for 1 year and can be renewed once. After completing the program and state tests and receiving the program's recommendation, they are eligible for the Initial Educator Certificate.

1. Earn a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution (for secondary areas, a major in or close to the teaching field)
2. Pass the content tests for your certificate area
3. Gain admission to a Rhode Island approved alternate route program
4. Complete the program's pre-service experience of at least 5 weeks
5. Accept a district job offer; the program and district jointly request your Alternate Route Preliminary Certificate
6. Teach as teacher of record for at least 1 school year while completing seminars or courses with mentor support
7. Finish the program and state tests and get the program's recommendation for the Initial Educator Certificate

Source: rules.sos.ri.gov

Changing careers into teaching in Rhode Island

If you already have a bachelor's degree and some years in another job, start with the alternative route described above. It is built for people who did not study education.

For pay context, the median annual wage for high school teachers in Rhode Island was $92,610 in May 2025, according to the BLS OEWS state estimates. If your background matches a subject on the state's shortage list, that list is further down this page.

State-approved alternative certification programs

Not verified yet: the state's website could not be reached when we checked. Check with the agency.

Licensed in another state

For teachers who hold a license from another state and want to teach in Rhode Island.

Reciprocity

Teachers who completed an approved educator preparation program in another state within the last 10 years, or who hold a currently valid full certificate in another state, can be certified through reciprocity. They must also pass Rhode Island's tests for the certificate area or show 3 years of effective teaching experience, unless they hold full certification in one of the 24 jurisdictions the rule lists (among them Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania), which need no additional requirements. Eligible applicants receive a 3-year Initial Educator Certificate, and those who still need the tests can receive a 1-year, non-renewable Temporary Initial Educator Preliminary Certificate.

1. Confirm you completed an approved program in another state within 10 years or hold a valid full certificate there
2. Check whether your state is one of the 24 jurisdictions with no additional requirements
3. If not, pass the Rhode Island tests for your area or document 3 years of effective teaching experience
4. Apply to RIDE with official transcripts and your program statement or out-of-state certificate
5. Attest to good moral character, disclosing employment, criminal and certification history
6. If tests are still pending, request the 1-year Temporary Initial Educator Preliminary Certificate

Source: rules.sos.ri.gov

Required tests, codes and qualifying scores

Rhode Island uses Praxis for teacher licensure. The table lists the core tests by license area, with the qualifying score and fee exactly as the source publishes them. Which tests you take depends on the license area you are seeking, so check the full list for your subject before you register.

Scores and fees change. Confirm both on the testing company's page before you register.

Fees, background check and license validity

Background check

Not verified yet: the state's website could not be reached when we checked. Check with the agency.

Your first license

License: Initial Educator Certificate. It is valid for 3 years. The first of three tiers of full certification (Initial, Professional and Advanced Educator Certificates). After 3 years of work in a Rhode Island publicly funded educational setting and 90 professional learning units, it is renewed as a 5-year Professional Educator Certificate; the Advanced Educator Certificate is valid for 7 years. Source

Renewal

Full certificates are renewed with professional learning units (PLUs): 1 hour of professional learning equals 1 PLU and 1 college credit equals 15 PLUs, approved by the employing district's superintendent and verified by the employer. Holders of the 3-year Initial Educator Certificate need 90 PLUs and 3 years of employment in a Rhode Island publicly funded setting to move to a 5-year Professional Educator Certificate. Professional and Advanced certificate renewals require between 75 and 100 PLUs depending on when the certificate was first issued and the renewal year, with 100 required of everyone from 2030, and an educator who falls short may receive a one-time, 1-year Special Provisional Certificate. Requirement: 90 PLUs to move from the Initial to the Professional Educator Certificate; up to 100 PLUs for each Professional or Advanced renewal after that. Source

Teacher pay in Rhode Island

Elementary teachers in Rhode Island earned a median of $90,930 a year in May 2025, $26,960 above the national median of $63,970. Half of teachers in each occupation earn more than the median and half earn less. What you earn in a given district depends on its salary schedule, your experience and any graduate credits.

Annual wages, cross-industry estimates, from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics May 2025 state tables, retrieved through the BLS Public Data API on November 7, 2026. Special education teachers are shown separately; our guide to the online master's in special education covers the add-on and initial-license options.

Teacher shortage areas, 2026-27

Rhode Island reported these subject areas to the US Department of Education as teacher shortage areas for the 2026-27 school year.

• Art and Music Education: Music (statewide)
• Early Childhood: General Curriculum/ Early Childhood (statewide)
• English as a Second Language: Bilingual Education, English as a Second Language (statewide)
• General Shortages: Education General (statewide)
• Health and Physical Fitness: Health Science, Physical Education (statewide)
• Language Arts: English (statewide)
• Mathematics (statewide)
• Science: Biological Sciences, Chemistry, General Science (statewide)
• Special Education: Early Childhood, Elementary Special Educator, Severely and Profoundly Handicapped (statewide)
• Support Staff: Library/Media Specialist (statewide)
• World Languages (statewide)

Source: US Department of Education, Teacher Shortage Areas report, retrieved November 7, 2026.