One in five new teachers is trained through alternative programs, which allow new teachers to get required state certification without taking four years of college courses in education.

Alternative programs include:

Fifth-year programs at universities that lead to a master’s degree in education. Graduate students in such programs student-teach without pay and take coursework in classroom management, curriculum design, teaching methods, lesson planning and child development.

Internships, generally run by university colleges of education, in which a student-teacher is paid a portion of a certified teacher’s salary but is responsible for his or her own class. Teachers in such programs generally attend after-school or evening classes in classroom management and other topics.

Programs run by states and school districts, in which participants are responsible for their own class and get a full teacher’s salary. They also attend classes when they’re not teaching. Such programs are popular in New York City, Houston, Dallas, Los Angeles and other big cities. New Jersey runs its own statewide program.