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 | Can policy-makers improve teacher quality?
Teacher quality will always be at the heart of education policy and reform. Policy-makers who want to influence student achievement know that teachers are where the "rubber hits the road." This EDPolicy Update examines how U.S. teachers have been the focus of several recent policy developments, including changes to the teacher-quality timeline under NCLB, as well as new pay plans in Colorado and Texas. EDPolicy Update
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| Professional Development Resources
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| | The Overlooked Key to Raising Student Achievement -- By Lee Canter
Instructional strategies and standards-based curricula are important factors in improving student performance, but there is an often overlooked factor that is much more critical. Click here to read more.
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| States scramble to ensure teachers are "highly qualified"
School administrators are moving their recruiting programs into high gear to meet NCLB's summer 2006 deadline that all teachers of core academic courses be "highly qualified." Observers say even if states don't completely meet that deadline, their efforts to improve support to their staff and raise teacher quality will pay off in the long run. U.S. News & World Report (9/12)
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| Report informs policy-makers about teacher recruitment, retention
This report from the Education Commission of the States explores the nature of the current teacher work force and analyzes promising recruitment strategies, with a goal of increasing policy-makers' knowledge of the issue. Topics covered include the type of individuals who enter teaching, why some districts are more successful than others in recruiting teachers and the impact of working conditions on retention. Click here to read more.
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| UNC system head puts heat on education schools
With North Carolina facing a teacher shortage, state university system head Erskine Bowles has told his education deans he'll make their 15 schools his top priority if they revamp their teacher-training programs. Some system leaders say making dramatic changes could be difficult, because education schools typically rank low on the university resource ladder. The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.) (2/20)
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| States boost requirements for preschool teachers
A handful of states have launched efforts to upgrade their preschool teaching corps by imposing more rigorous standards on people trying to enter the field. New Jersey has perhaps been the most aggressive of all, requiring that all preschool teachers have at least a bachelor's degree, specialized training in early childhood education and state certification. Harvard Education Letter (1/2006)
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| Report: Southeastern states de-emphasizing pedagogy in teacher training
A report from the Southeast Center for Teacher Quality found that NCLB's emphasis on subject-specific knowledge has compelled southeastern states to lower qualification standards for teachers. The report also found that rural and urban schools have difficulty finding and keeping teachers, because they cannot compete with the higher salaries offered by suburban districts. Stateline.org (8/2)
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| Schools must strive for culture that promotes professional learning
Schools must "create job requirements that make learning about learning mandatory," argue Grant Wiggins, president of Authentic Education, and Jay McTighe, an educational consultant. Moreover, it would behoove all schools to have a "Learning Bill of Rights" that serves as a set of standards for making decisions about whether certain practices were consistent with teachers' learning-centered mission. Educational Leadership (March 2006)
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| Peer evaluation can boost skills in the classroom
Teachers have few opportunities to receive feedback from peers on the quality of their teaching, says Tony Wagner, co-director of the Change Leadership Group at Harvard University. Superintendents and principals should seek to implement systems that bring teachers together in small groups to discuss strategies that might make them more effective in the classroom, Wagner says. Teacher Magazine (1/1)
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| Learning from what doesn't work
Educators are flooding the professional learning community with requests for strategies that work to improve reading comprehension in the upper-elementary and secondary grades. The answers are not simple for most students, particularly for older students still learning about literacy. In figuring out what works, sometimes it's helpful to first consider what doesn't work. This issue of Educational Leadership examines five ineffective strategies for developing reading comprehension in older students. Educational Leadership
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| Support for new teachers can pay off with higher retention rates
New teacher induction programs that include mentoring and other types of support have been found to significantly lower attrition rates. However, such programs require substantial amounts of time and money, two things many schools don't have. Teacher Magazine (free registration) (1/1)
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| NBPTS program raises bar for teaching profession
William Lowe Boyd and Jillian P. Reese of Pennsylvania State University praise the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards for creating a more rigorous set of standards in the teaching profession. However, they point out that only 1% of U.S. teachers have earned national certification, and argue the program must become more cost-effective if it is to expand. In addition, Boyd and Reese say schools should put NBPTS-certified teachers in leadership positions where they can coach other teachers and demonstrate their skills. Education Next (Spring 2006)
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