Dept. of Educ. Says Teacher Certification Processes Need Overhaul

by Fred Jackson

A report from the U.S. Department of Education indicates many states continue to get a failing grade when it comes to improving the quality of teachers they employ.

In 1988, Congress passed a law which requires states to put highly qualified teachers in every high-poverty classroom by this September, and in all schools by 2005. It appears many states are going to miss those deadlines.

The report says the majority of states still have lax standards. As an example, the California Basic Educational Skills Test for teachers is still set at the tenth-grade level.

According to The New York Times, the report also condemns states for setting passing grades on a common test that assesses teachers’ reading, writing, and math skills at “shockingly low” levels.

Of the 29 states using the exam, known as the Praxis Pre-Professional Skills Test, only Virginia recognizes the national average in reading as a passing grade. Fifteen states pass teachers who read in the lowest quartile of the national average; nine other states pass teachers in the bottom fifth of all readers.

(This article courtesy of Agape Press.)