The following is an excerpt from a letter that I received from NCTQ. Anyone interested in education should consider subscribing to this free update (newsletter). Great links! -- Steve McCrea WhatShouldSchoolsTeach.com ******************************************************** Welcome to the Teacher Quality Bulletin! TQ Bulletin is a weekly e-mail newsletter brought to you by the National Council on Teacher Quality (www.nctq.org) ******************************************************** Dear TQB Readers: First, let me introduce myself. My name is Kate Walsh and I am the new Executive Director of the National Council on Teacher Quality. I am both excited about and challenged by the enormous potential of this young organization. My goal for NCTQ is simple but ambitious, staying true to the original goals that prompted its founding a little over two years ago. I intend for NCTQ to become the nation’s premier voice for advocating policies that improve the overall quality of teachers in the United States. If there are teaching policies that should be implemented at any level—district, state or national—you may not hear NCTQ shouting from the rooftops but we will be engaging in some 21st century equivalents! Why does the nation need NCTQ? After all, there are many teacher organizations in this country such as teacher unions, professional teaching boards, state regulatory agencies, and teacher preparation and accreditation bodies. All of them play legitimate and important roles in shaping the nation’s teacher policies and all of them are working hard to secure the highest quality teaching force. Yet despite these intentions, these organizations are rarely free to disregard the immediate needs of their constituencies, even if in the long run it may be the nation’s best interest to do so. We are entirely free from such constraints; our independence guarantees allows us to act as a veritable truth squad. Our broad mission may be teacher quality but it is a mission that is framed and measured by one indicator: how well students are achieving. I welcome your suggestions for TQB; you can email me directly at kwalsh1@nctq.org. Kate Walsh ******************************************************** Teacher Quality Bulletin Volume 4, Number 11 Friday, March 28, 2003 In this issue: (1) Threat of Lawsuits Retards Classroom Learning (2) Setting the Record Straight on Alternative Certification and NCLB Short Takes: * Upping the Ante on Teacher Qualification * Hot, New Import: Teachers * New Report on Teachers’ Status * Meeting the Challenge of No Child Left Behind * Budget Woes in Iowa ************** Threat of Lawsuits Retards Classroom Learning Teachers around the country have been reporting frustration with administrators’ responses to unruly students who curse, cheat, and even strike classmates. Often such students are simply sent back into the classrooms that they have been disrupting, undermining the teacher’s authority and eroding the attention of the other students. While many teachers blame unsupportive administrators, experts say that the problem can be traced to the threat of litigation—a threat that has been fomented by Supreme Court decisions. According to NYU Education professor Richard Arum: “Teachers rightly perceive that administrators aren’t backing them up, but the reason...is students were extended rudimentary due process rights for even minor sanctions.” In recent years, students have used their access to the courts to sue for grade-reversals, for reinstatement after expulsions, and even for monetary damages after being denied valedictorian status. Perhaps when we are naming reasons for teacher shortages, this problem may need to be on the short list. “Teachers say the Law Adds Disorder to the Classroom” The Baltimore Sun, March 23, 2003 http://www.sunspot.net/news/education/bal- md.teachers23mar23,0,6540017.story?coll=bal%2Dlocal%2Dheadlines Setting the Record Straight on Alternative Certification and NCLB The American Association of Colleges for Teachers of Education has issued a new “Accountability Statement.” In the document, AACTE calls for the elimination of alternative certification since this constitutes a “dual system of teacher education”—an odd characterization since few people think that that a monopoly system of teacher education has worked very well. Even more ominously, AACTE claims that alternative certification “subvert[s] the [No Child Left Behind] law.” This claim is erroneous. As the Department of Education’s Draft Guidance of June 6, 2002 says in re-stating Title IX, Section 9101, Part 23 of No Child Left Behind, “Any teacher who has obtained full State certification (whether he or she has achieved certification through traditional or alternative routes), has a 4-year college degree, and has demonstrated subject matter competence is considered to be ‘highly qualified’ under the law.” As we reported last week in TQB vol. 4, no. 10, Secretary of Education Rod Paige has explicitly endorsed alternative certification broadly understood and the use of the American Board examination in particular. This endorsement echoes the recommendations in Chapters 2 and 4 of the Secretary’s June 2002 Annual Report on Teacher Quality. Meeting the Highly Qualified Teachers Challenge: The Secretary's Annual Report on Teacher Quality, US Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education, June 2002 http://www.ed.gov/offices/OPE/News/teacherprep/AnnualReport.pdf Title IX of the No Child Left Behind Act http://www.ed.gov/legislation/ESEA02/pg107.html The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education Accountability Statement http://www.aacte.org/../Membership_Governance/accountabilitystmt.htm The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education http://www.aacte.org Upping the Ante on Teacher Qualification Dramatic reforms to teacher licensure are on the table in Idaho. Among other recommendations being debated, the State Board of Education will hear a proposal for new teacher tests and a three-tiered classification system for teachers. The two teacher tests would require teachers to pass a test on general content knowledge for academic subjects—as called for in No Child Left Behind —and demonstrate proficiency in teaching practices. Meanwhile, the three-part categorization system would divide teachers into initial, professional and advanced categories. Initial teachers would have three years to demonstrate value added to students, pursue additional professional development, and achieve goals in professional development. Failure to meet these goals would result in the denial of license to teach. Like any complicated recommendation, implementation will be the key to the success or failure of these reforms. Nevertheless, Idaho’s plan for better-qualified teachers through competency-based licensure represents a big step in the right direction. “Teacher Testing Aims to Improve Public Schools” The Idaho Statesman, March 24, 2003 http://www.idahostatesman.com/News/story.asp?ID=35942 Hot New Import: Teachers Teacher shortages can be addressed by cherry-picking teachers from other states or even foreign countries. The Florida Education Department has launched a new ad campaign looking to hire educators who want to “Sun. Surf. Teach. In Florida.” Meanwhile, officials from teacher-starved rural Arizona have traveled to New Delhi to interview prospective teachers in India. “Teachers Recruited from India” The Arizona Republic, March 22, 2003 http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0322india22.html “Florida Poaching Big Apple Teachers” The New York Post, March 23, 2003 http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/71557.htm New Report on Teachers’ Status Using data from the federal government’s Schools and Staffing Survey, 1999-2000, Barnett Berry’s think tank the Southeast Center on Teaching Quality has issued a new report comparing the job satisfaction of teachers across the nation with those in the Southeast. The report, authored by Berry, John Luczak, and John Norton, shows a number of interesting findings. Teachers who would enter the profession again outnumbered those who wouldn’t by about 3-to-1. Alarmingly—but consistent with many previous studies—less than 40% of teachers in the southeast and nationally felt that they were “very well prepared” in their subject matter. “The Status of Teaching in the Southeast: Measuring Progress, Moving Forward” http://www.teachingquality.org/resources/SECTQpublications/SASSbrief.pdf The Southeast Center for Teaching Quality http://www.teachingquality.org Meeting the Challenge of No Child Left Behind The No Child Left Behind Act requires a “highly qualified” teacher in every classroom by 2005-6. Part of that requirement means that secondary schools must have a teacher with an academic major for each core subject being taught. How far along are states on the road to compliance? New data reveals that some are on track while others have a long way to go. Data released this week by the National Center for Educational Statistics and made available on the Council of Chief State School Officers website shows that some states are woefully far from fulfilling their requirement: As of the 1999-2000 school year, only 38% of Nevada math teachers, grades 7-12, have a major in mathematics, while only 53% of Tennessee science teachers have attained a science degree. There are also bright spots: 90% of New Jersey math teachers were math majors while 93% of Garden State science educators studied science. Secondary Teachers with Major in Assigned Field, 2000 (Grades 7-12, 9- 12) http://www.ccsso.org/pdfs/SecondaryMajorMinor.pdf The Council of Chief State School Officers http://www.ccsso.org Budget Woes Iowa Budget crunches are forcing tough fiscal decisions and reprioritization in almost every district in the country. Sometimes teachers are fighting these proposals but sometimes they are advocating them. In Iowa, Des Moines teachers are asking Superintendent Eric Witherspoon to look at the $1.4 million that goes to tax-sheltered annuities for the district’s 133 administrators. With a $6.9 million shortfall that must be closed by July 1, the Iowa educators say that targeting the administrators’ fringe benefits is an opportunity to reduce the budget gap without harming classrooms. “Teachers Question Administrator Annuities” The Des Moines Register, March 21, 2003 http://desmoinesregister.com/news/stories/c4780927/20797433.html ******************************************************** The Teacher Quality Bulletin is published weekly by the National Council on Teacher Quality, a nonprofit organization that aims to foster public understanding and acceptance of a commonsense approach to teacher quality by measuring teacher success in terms of improved student achievement. NCTQ assists interested states and districts in crafting sound teacher policies. Past issues of TQ Bulletin, the Teacher Quality Clearinghouse (a collection of news and research on teacher quality), and further information on NCTQ are available at the organization's website, www.nctq.org To subscribe to TQ Bulletin, or to send questions, comments, or suggestions, please e-mail TQBulletin@nctq.org |
| Note: I found this statementabout Alt Cert fascinating. I am certified in four areas thanks to Alt Cert and the Florida Teacher Certification Exam. SEE ADDITIONAL COMMENTS (my letter to Kate Walsh) -- Steve McCrea, WhatShouldSchoolsTeach |
| See my web page about Becoming a Florida Teacher and the Florida Education Corps (a 2 year commitment of public service) -- Steve McCrea |
| Do I need to have a major in math to be able to teach math? It might help for calculus, but most students don't get that far! See my Visual Math and Gym Math pages -- Steve McCrea |
| What Should Schools Teach? Take the survey, help a teacher prioritize his lessons... |