Valerie Strauss of the Washington Post has posted an article by a prominent Finnish education policy expert, Pasi Sahlberg, which argues persuasively that the American focus on teacher effectiveness is missing some key components. Without a shift in thinking about how to reform American education, Sahlberg, who admits some of the large differences between the Read more about Finnish Educator Refutes U.S. Approach to Education Reform[…]
There have been rumblings for the last couple of years about a new “bar-exam” for teachers entering the teaching profession, which this blog has discussed here and here and here. The organization that is spearheading one of the chief candidates to fill the void of more rigorous teacher licensing tests is the edTPA. The edTPA Read more about edTPA: The New Standard for Teacher Certification?[…]
A new report from Education Next demonstrates the academic differences between those entering the teaching profession in recent years and those entering in decades past. The numbers suggest that the teaching profession is benefiting from higher numbers of academic high achievers than has been the case in the past. Dan Goldhaber and Joe Walch, writing Read more about New teachers outpace their veteran peers on SAT scores[…]
Seven states announced ambitious efforts to make it tougher to get into teacher training programs – and tougher to get a license after graduating. Under a two-year pilot program created by the Council of Chief State School Officers, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, and Washington will pilot the teacher preparation changes. Among the steps Read more about Seven States will Pilot Teacher Preparation Changes[…]
As schools, classrooms, and districts move toward more sophisticated instructional technologies to successfully implement higher college- and career-ready standards, educator preparation programs must equip future educators with the necessary skills to use technology effectively to personalize instruction and increase student engagement. A new report from the Alliance for Excellent Education’s Center for Digital Learning, Expert Read more about How to Prepare Teachers in the Digital Age[…]
The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP), one of the leading organizations providing accreditation for teacher education programs across the country, recently released a new set of standards that its leaders hope will “elevate the teaching profession and improve outcomes for students.” Mary Brabeck, dean of the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Read more about Why the New Teacher Ed. Standards Matter[…]
Teach for America is no stranger to controversy. For some, they are the poster child for the new wave of urban education and should be commended for the way that they are able to recruit highly talented, motivated college graduates to devote at least 2 years to teaching in nigh-needs schools. For others, TFA is Read more about TFA Teachers Shown to Boost Secondary Math Learning[…]
The recession, questions concerning the connection between teachers and student test scores, and the increased importance of federal grants have all combined in recent years to diminish the role of NBPTS national certification for teachers. Currently, the number of teachers with this designation sits around 102,000. But with the recent announcement by the National Board Read more about National Board Certification to Be Cheaper, Smoother[…]
The New York Times recently published an education article that asks, “Do teachers need to have experience?” They asked this question of five different educators who each inhabit different realms of the education field, and as might be expected, they received five unique answers to their question. We have picked out some relevant snippets from Read more about Do Teachers Need to Have Experience?[…]
Recently, the Alliance for Excellent Education hosted a webinar, which is now available online on demand, entitled, “Next-Generation Standards and Accreditation Policies for Teacher Preparation and Development. The Alliance, the Council of Chief State School Officers, and the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) held a webinar on the InTASC (Interstate Teacher Assessment Read more about Alliance for Excellent Education Webinar: New Teacher Accreditation[…]
As states and districts transition to the more rigorous Common Core State Standards, the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET) has released a new paper, “Preparing Teachers for the Common Core: Aligning Standards for Teaching with Standards for Learning”, outlining how the TAP Teaching Standards clearly align to the Common Core. This connection allows Read more about TAP System Prepares Teachers for Common Core[…]
New York City, especially under Mayor Michael Bloomberg, has often tried to be a model of a progressive city, willing to take on business lobbies or entrenched bureaucracies in an effort to improve. For example, recently, New York started using data to rate restaurants, track the repair of potholes and close lackluster schools in New Read more about New York City Issuing Scorecards on Teacher Colleges[…]
Conor Williams of the Education Policy Program at the New America Foundation takes on those in the “teacher professionalism” camp of education reform. In an article sparked by Harvard Education Professor Jal Mehta’s new book and article, “Why American Education Fails: And How Lessons From Abroad Could Improve It”, Williams speculates that the concept of Read more about The Way We Talk: Professionalism[…]
The Center on Education Policy (CEP) at George Washington University has prepared three new reports based on state survey data about the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The reports focus on state implementation efforts and professional development issues related to CCSS. “Year 3 of Implementing the Common Core State Standards: An Overview of States’ Progress Read more about States Report Progress in Implementing Common Core[…]
Jenny DeMonte of the Center for American Progress has penned a new report that calls for teacher-training programs to be more closely aligned with those organizations that actually hire and professionally develop the teachers that make such a crucial difference in the academics and lives of students. Everyone agrees that teacher quality is important and Read more about Who Is In Charge of Teacher Preparation?[…]
The National Council on Teacher Quality, a Washington-based education think-tank, recently published its long awaited Teacher Prep Review. The report, based on a four star system, judged only four programs at four stars. On the other hand, NCTQ judged 160 programs as so poor that they put them on a special consumer watch list. NCTQ Read more about NCTQ report on teacher training programs spurs controversy[…]