Low Expectations

My high school was certified as “college preparatory.” I was able to take introductory calculus, advanced chemistry and biology, and even several English literature courses for college credit. I graduated as valedictorian of my decent-sized class, with just over a 3.9 GPA. However, as my father often observed with great frustration, I rarely spent my [...]

Certifying the Intangible

Do we need good teachers? Don’t be silly. Of course we do. We can all recall a teacher who made a big difference in our lives. And now we have research, as reviewed in Dan Goldhaber’s Feature essay “The Mystery of Good Teaching,” which shows more clearly than ever before that the quality of the [...]

Positive Spin

The evidence for teacher certification.

Teach for America

Since 1990 the New York-based Teach for America (TFA) program has placed more than 7,000 teachers in some of the nation’s most challenging school districts. The nonprofit organization recruits high-achieving seniors from top colleges and asks them to commit themselves to two years of teaching in inner-city or rural schools. TFA currently supplies teachers to [...]

Randomly Accountable

Failing to account for natural fluctuations in test scores could undermine the very idea of holding schools accountable for their efforts – or lack thereof

Tortuous Routes

The urban school districts of California have a well-publicized shortage of teachers. So they’re eager to move well-qualified candidates into the classroom, right? Not always. Nontraditional candidates-namely recent college graduates and career changers who haven’t attended a standard teacher-preparation program-often encounter serious roadblocks, even with the state’s full endorsement of alternative certification programs that allow [...]

A New Partnership

The move toward federally imposed accountability standards is necessary to ensure that federal funds are enhancing educational opportunity, especially for poor and minority students. It will all be for naught, however, if Congress doesn't guarantee that states will receive the resources necessary to overhaul failing schools

Unwarranted Intrusion

Inside the Washington, D.C., beltway, the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) is seen as either a sea change in federal education policy or a half-measure designed to demonstrate the political leadership’s willingness to “do something” on education. On one side are supporters of the legislation who point to its substantial tightening [...]

The Feds Step In

From his first days in office, President Bush made education reform one of his chief priorities. Congress responded with a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) that requires states to ensure that all students reach a certain level of proficiency within the next 12 years. Schools that fail to meet their achievement [...]

A Tenuous Hold

Education schools have lost the confidence of the public

and policymakers alike. They'll need to relinquish their

monopoly on teacher preparation in order to gain it back