Is there really a teacher shortage? This question is a complex one and it is not easily answered. A recent analysis of the data of the teaching landscape by the Education Policy Center at the American Institutes for Research, shows that the shortages may not be as large as previously thought and that the teaching Read more about The Changing Landscape of the Teacher Workforce[…]
In a recent article in RealClear Education, Ashley LiBetti Mitchel and Chad Aldeman explore the difficulty with evaluating teacher preparation. Excerpts of “Our Failed Investments in Teacher Preparation” appear below: Each year, new teachers collectively spend about $4.85 billion dollars and 302 million hours on their preparation work. But there is no evidence that any Read more about Evaluating Teacher Preparation: The problems with inputs — and outputs[…]
A recent comparison of data about states, conducted by Wallet Hub, ranked states based on a number of factors. The factors compare data on two category subsets that include: Job Opportunities and Competition and Academic and Work Environment. This study looks at subset factors that examine: Average Starting Salary for Teachers (adjusted for cost of Read more about Best and Worst States for Teachers for 2015[…]
The Noyce Foundation supports major research and development efforts by quality national organizations to create new models for the recruitment, compensation, development, evaluation, and accountability of school principals and teachers as well as district and other leaders. The collection of R&D efforts includes resources from Education Resource Strategies, New Leaders, New Visions for Public Schools, Read more about Human Capital Resources for Schools and Districts[…]
Most analysts in the education policy conversation agree that teacher quality is the most important in-school variable shaping students’ educational outcomes. It’s a huge lever—new technology, fancy curricula, and better content standards are almost meaningless without a great teacher to make them work. A new report from Third Way offers some insight into the challenges Read more about New Report on College Students’ Perceptions of the Teaching Profession[…]
Jane Best and Courtney Cohen of McREL have written a helpful document looking at some of the hot button education issues today, but with a unique focus on rural education. While a quarter of all American students are enrolled in rural public schools, many rural teachers and administrators believe that education stakeholders are slow to Read more about Rural Education: Examining Capacity Challenges That Influence Educator Effectiveness[…]
Can big data and predictive analytics help school leaders hire better teachers? That’s the new pitch being made by two companies: TeacherMatch, from Chicago, and Washington-based Hanover Research. Both claim that their new algorithm-driven teacher-selection tools can predict the impact teacher candidates will have on student test scores should they be hired, which they argue Read more about Data Tools to Predict Teacher Candidates’ Impact[…]
The Secretary of Education is planning a publicity blitz aimed at recruiting “the best & brightest to the profession,” as he recently tweeted. Public service announcements will run on TV and radio, online and in print. Emissaries to dozens of college campuses will talk up teaching as a savvy career choice. And a new website Read more about US Teacher Corps Campaign[…]
Roughly 180 teachers, principals, and education advocates met at the US Department of Education’s (ED) headquarters last week to make connections and engage in conversations about how educators will lead the transformation of their profession. Educators drilled down on a number of topics and made recommendations for the next steps in the RESPECT Project. One Read more about Teachers and Principals Get Engaged[…]
Learning Matters, a non-profit production company focused on education reporting, has launched a new blog by and for teachers called Why I Teach. Learning Matters “invites classroom teachers to share what brought them to the teaching profession—and what keeps them there.” The first blog entry was an essay written by Esther Wojcicki, Learning Matters’ Board Read more about Learning Matters Launches “Why I Teach”[…]
The Center for American Progress released two reports last week focused on the lack of diversity in the American school system and what might be done about it. The first paper, Teacher Diversity Matters, by Ulrich Boser, reflects on the increasingly diverse public school population and the decreasingly diverse teacher population. Using the 2008 Schools Read more about Teacher Diversity Matters[…]
A new teacher evaluation law in Indiana is causing concern among prospective and certified teachers. The new evaluation system includes measures of student performance that carry significant weight in the overall evaluation structure. Teachers who formerly welcomed student-teachers into their classrooms are now hesitant to do so. “They’re saying, ‘We’re not having a student teacher Read more about New Evaluations Systems May Threaten Student-Teaching Programs[…]
Last month, the Obama Administration released its plan for “recruiting, preparing, and retaining great teaching talent.” In his forward to the plan by Secretary Duncan writes: “Some of our existing teacher preparation programs are not up to the job. They operate partially blindfolded, without access to data that tells them how effective their graduates are Read more about Obama Administration Releases Plan for Teacher Education Reform and Improvement[…]
Earlier this month, Richard M. Ingersoll and Henry May published a study through the Consortium for Policy Research in Education that addressed the long-held belief that the country is suffering from a lack of diversity in the teaching profession. They synthesized their findings in a recent article for Phi Delta Kappan. As an introduction, they Read more about The Minority Teacher Shortage: Fact or Fable?[…]
Under a series of actions taken over the past year and a half by the New York State Board of Regents, the body that oversees P-12 education, higher education, and teacher certification, the doors have been opened for nonuniversity programs to prepare teachers at the graduate-degree level. Additionally, the first new graduate school of education Read more about N.Y. Thinks Outside Teacher Education Box[…]
New Jersey’s state Board of Education recently voted to relax the requirements for hiring superintendents in its most troubled school districts, opening these jobs to non-educators for the first time. The new regulations will take effect immediately in the 57 school districts that have schools labeled as “failing” due to low student test scores. Only Read more about New Jersey Board of Education Relaxes Qualifications for Superintendents[…]