With all the big education stories coming out in the past
few weeks, it’s easy to miss the forest for the trees: the country now expects a
lot more of its teachers.
In spite of recent legislation in South Carolina and
Oklahoma rejecting the Common Core State Standards, 42 states and
the District of Columbia are moving ahead.
Further, 35 states now require that student achievement be a significant or the most significant factor in teacher evaluation. 20 states require that
student achievement be factored into tenure decisions.
It’s these heightened expectations that make the Teacher Prep Review – whose second edition will be released this Tuesday,
June 17 – all the more imperative. The training that teachers receive has
to set them up for success.
Last year’s edition of the Review revealed a troubling “capacity gap” between what teachers
were being expected to do and what their training equipped them to do. Most new
teachers weren’t getting the preparation in reading instruction, math and
content that the new student learning standards demand. Indeed, new teachers
don’t feel like they can even get to the business of teaching and learning
because they haven’t been taught the most basic classroom management
techniques.
This year’s edition of the Review encompasses a lot more programs. We’ve moved to a system
of ranking programs to make it easier to find the best bets in teacher
preparation. We’re also taking a look at some of the largest alternative
certification programs in the country to get a sense if this sector does any
better by its candidates.
Is the capacity gap closing? Stay
tuned on Tuesday to find out.
