The following is an excerpt from a letter that I received from NCTQ. 

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-- Steve McCrea 
WhatShouldSchoolsTeach.com


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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)
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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


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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 

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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

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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
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