In Canada, we need more qualified teachers. Alberta’s Expedited Teaching Certificates, introduced in April 2026, have been presented as a solution to getting more teachers in classrooms. So have other shortened university teacher education programs, recently announced in Ontario and in Nova Scotia in 2023. In Alberta, four new expedited teaching certificate pathways will require training related to the province’s standard of professional competence and conduct.One is for Alberta students in the final year of an Alberta-based bachelor of education program, and another for internationally educated teachers eligible to work in Canada. Arguably, these two groups have received the necessary training, expertise and practice that could serve students well. Two more expedited certificates (Interim Trade Teacher Certificate and Interim Specialized Teacher Certificate) require eligible tradespeople and skilled professionals to complete “teacher preparation coursework,” including a practicum. These are more problematic, being premised on the idea that specific knowledge plus select courses and “training” is enough to teach. The idea that if you know something, you can teach it, may seem like a straight line. For a gifted few, it might be. But I and many other other experts argue that teaching children and young people requires knowing how to teach the content to achieve understanding that is useful to actual learning. What learning to teach meansKnowing how to teach children and young people means having in-depth knowledge of pedagogy (varied philosophies of learning and teaching), assessment, learning styles and needs — and the varied complex dynamics that dictate the context for how effective teaching happens. Read more: If I could change one thing in education: Community-school partnerships would be top priority This fundamental knowledge happens alongside opportunities to practise and refine one’s teaching. This is the difference between being taught by qualified teachers and by people who know stuff. Knowing content is not synonymous with good teaching. Getting teachers into classrooms faster may fill classrooms, but at what cost? There is a cautionary tale here worth paying attention to.United States contextShortening, and in some cases not requiring teacher education at all, has been tried and failed. Evidence from our American neighbours shows substantive learning losses result when children and young people are taught by less qualified teachers. In 2020, the Learning Policy Institute published the report, Inequitable Opportunity to Learn: Student Access to Certified and Experienced Teachers, that illustrated the negative impact of under-prepared teachers. A study in California showed that “a major predictor of student achievement is the preparedness of teachers.” For teachers who have entered into classrooms via expedited pathways, evidence showed negative student achievement for all student groups. But in other states, too, teachers holding substandard credentials, like those generated by fast-track or expedited pathways, were significantly and negatively associated with lower student achievement. In New York, for example, student achievement, particularly for marginalized students, suffered when those students had inexperienced, under-prepared teachers. That same example shows student achievement in elementary and middle school math improved when those students had fully certified teachers who graduated from a university-based teacher education program. Read more: How teachers’ union activism helped shift the U.S. election debate on education Lessons from TexasMore recently, Education Week, an American not-for-profit resource for K-12 education news, examined how both the breadth and duration of uncertified instructors in classrooms since the COVID-19 pandemic is unprecedented. Texas stands out as being “emblematic” of what’s happened at a smaller scale elesewhere. During the pandemic, Texas saw a massive increase in uncertified teachers. Between the 2019-20 and 2024-25 school years, the total number of uncertified teachers in Texas nearly quadrupled from from 12,900 to 42,100.Texas school and district leaders note that unqualified teachers who lack tools to succeed become rapidly overwhelmed and burn out. That burnout means the shortage continues, and is made worse by learning losses left in its wake. In Texas high schools, there have been learning losses of up to six months in English, four months in math and social studies and two months in science compared to students taught by certified teachers who completed a university degree program.These types of learning losses are alarming. With 2025 legislation, Texas is now acknowledging that the effort to fill classrooms is going to cost billions to fix. Part of that funding is to ensure all school authorities have fully certified teachers in classrooms by 2030.Real winners and losersI fear we are on a road of short-term gain for long-term pain. The unlucky students whose school experience takes place during the era of shortcuts will suffer learning losses that won’t be regained. If the evidence from the U.S. isn’t enough, the Council of Ontario Directors of Education, drawing on Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development evidence, points out that higher levels of teacher certification are consistently linked with improved performance in reading, math and science. What teachers learn about pedagogy, assessment, subject knowledge and practical teaching experience is crucial to effectiveness. Stagnant fundingOver the past 10 years, stagnant operating funds and capped tuition fees have left university programs across Canada, including faculties of education, with the bare bones. Many of these programs have had to limit the number of students that can be accepted each year because we simply do not have the resources to expand our programs to meet the market demand for teachers. Many of us in education have been sounding the alarm to no avail. In any society, a well-trained certified workforce supports continuity of learning and achievement. We wouldn’t contemplate having an unqualified doctor treat us any more than we want an uncertified electrician wiring our house. So why is an unqualified teacher OK? The irony created by fast-tracked teacher training and certification is that those future doctors and skilled trades workers, who we need as desperately as we need teachers, may never get to those professions. Learning could be irreparably lost because qualified teachers are not being valued or prioritized.A human endeavourWe are trading one problem — not enough teachers — for another much deeper problem: Lesser-qualified teachers. Unfortunately, while the math might make sense to some, a good quality education isn’t a math problem to be solved. Education is a human endeavour with real winners and losers. I fear the move towards expedited teaching certificates places our children and young people on the losing end of a game that they did not ask to play. They deserve better.Lisa Starr does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.