Standardized written tests required for teacher licensure and certification often prevent or restrict qualified deaf and hard of hearing individuals from entering their chosen profession. These individuals do not have the same access to English as hearing people and the sentence structures, vocabulary, and language style in standardized tests are often unfamiliar and extremely challenging. It is important that an alternative assessment system be developed to test deaf teachers knowledge and skills so that more deaf teachers can begin teaching. The presence of deaf teachers in the classroom with deaf children should be increased because: (1) they have a unique capability to communicate with deaf children; (2) they have a special understanding of the background, community, and culture of deaf persons; (3) they provide a much-needed positive role model for deaf learners; and (4) they provide a special means of continuing education for their hearing counterparts. Portfolio assessment is suggested as a good approach to evaluating deaf teacher candidates qualifications. Some of the portfolio components might be: course grades, constructed responses to a classroom teaching situation, observation and written evaluation by the candidate's student teaching supervisor, written lesson plans, written recommendations from professionals, and results of an interview with the candidate by a small panel of practitioners. Experimental use might be made of a video-taped lesson. (MAH)