If your relative took a state examination to receive a teaching certificate, there’s a chance that it was mentioned in 
a local newspaper. Have you looked?
This newspaper item from 1918 mentions my aunt, Luella Trautvetter. She would have been 17 at the time she took the test.
Now I’ve got to look and see if she passed–this newspaper reference only indicated those who took the exam in March of 1918 in Adams County, Illinois.
One response
What about nursing students? I recently found a great-aunt in a census indicating she was living in a dorm going to nursing school in Dallas, TX. I don’t currently have a subscription to one of the popular newspaper sites but I’d like to see if there’s anything written about her finishing nursing school and what she did after.