6 EDCAL February 12,2018
Report shows sense of urgency to improve outdated teacher policies grinding to a halt
The National Council on Teacher Quality has released its biannual 2017 State Teacher Policy Yearbook , which finds that the rapid progress made by states over the last decade to modernize their teacher policies has largely slowed . Since the last edition of the Yearbook in 2015 , few states have initiated any new actions to improve their teacher policies guiding how teachers are selected , prepared , evaluated and retained .
Florida and Louisiana are this year ’ s top performing states , each earning a B +. Overall , however , the 2017 Yearbook finds that state grades have mostly stagnated , with more state grades decreasing than at any other time in the Yearbook ’ s 10-year history . No state has ever earned an A . California received a D + after getting a D grade in 2015 .
From 2007 , when NCTQ began tracking state progress , until 2015 , many states took aggressive action to improve their teacher policies , including raising the bar for entry into the teaching profession , overhauling teacher evaluation policies , implementing tenure reform , and requiring that districts consider teacher effectiveness when making personnel decisions .
“ Our review indicates that a pressing need still exists to tackle anachronistic and counterproductive teacher policies , perhaps because policymakers are paying attention to where the political winds are blowing at the expense of improving teacher quality ,” said Elizabeth Ross , managing director of State Policy at NCTQ . “ Notably , many of these policies are noncontroversial – for example , whether teachers can transfer a teaching license across state lines without unnecessary barriers and whether states are ensuring that special education teachers know how to teach struggling readers . Adopting and implementing new , more effective policies would benefit school districts , teachers and , most importantly , students .”
Some specific areas meriting full attention by states :
• Invest in data systems to address issues relating to teacher shortages and surpluses .
Despite the alarming talk of teacher shortages , few states are collecting and connecting the full set of high-quality data necessary to support their districts in
Credentialing analyst workshops offered
Credential Counselors and Analysts of California is sponsoring workshops to address credentialing policies and regulations . The workshops are designed for credential analysts from colleges , universities , school districts and county offices of education statewide and will include representatives from the Commission on Teacher Credentialing .
The workshops will offer updates on credentialing policies and regulations and detailed information on the technical aspects of processing a credential application . These workshops are particularly helpful for new analysts , but also include information for experienced analysts as well . Upcoming workshops will be held in April and May statewide .
Registration is open to CCAC members at www . ccacteam . com . making decisions regarding targeted , local solutions to address teacher supply and demand issues , and no state has established clear parameters that govern the number of teachers trained in each major certification area .
• Increase transparency regarding educator equity to ensure that student groups are not systemically underserved by ineffective teachers .
Fewer than one-third of all states collect and publicly report all necessary data to identify where traditionally underserved students do not have equitable access to effective teachers .
• Expand diversity in the teaching workforce .
Fewer than half of all states are taking any concrete action to increase teacher diversity under a specific initiative , incentive program , or system of supports .
• Increase oversight of teacher preparation programs .
Fewer than half of all states articulate minimum standards of performance for teacher preparation programs , and among states that do maintain minimum performance standards , even fewer have articulated consequences for programs that do not meet such standards .
• Improve the preparation of special education teachers .
Only nine states require teacher candidates in elementary special education to possess basic content knowledge before they can earn a license , and only 12 states measure special education candidates ’ knowledge of how to teach reading , even though reading difficulties are the most common reason for special education referrals .
• Fully utilize teacher evaluation systems . Only 10 states explicitly require that evaluation results inform teacher compensation in some manner , and only 11 states explicitly require teacher leadership opportunities to be reserved only for highly rated teachers .
Despite significant room for improvement , some bright spots exist within the 2017 data . Many states have in place commendable policies to help ensure that 1 ) student teaching requirements are appropriately targeted to the grades and subjects the teachers will be teaching ; 2 ) teachers are evaluated across more than two rating categories ; 3 ) principals are rated , in part , on the effectiveness of their teachers and on their instructional leadership of the school .
“ States ’ teacher policies have an enormous impact on the quality of education in the state ,” Ross said . “ By highlighting opportunities for improvement , as well as strong policies , this Yearbook is designed to catalyze state action . ”
The 2017 Yearbook evaluates states against nine policy goals , including , for the first time , information to reflect teacher diversity initiatives , principal evaluation and support systems , and state support for teacher leadership opportunities . For each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia , NCTQ produces a customized summary that provides state policy strengths and opportunities for improvement .
The 2017 State Teacher Policy Yearbook is available at https :// goo . gl / BGvNK8 , with comprehensive information regarding each state ’ s teacher policies available in NCTQ ’ s State Teacher Policy Database , accessible at https :// goo . gl / UDUvRL .
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