Click here to return to OFCN's Main Index Page.
--- Wednesday --- July 8, 1998 --- Vol. 3 --- No. 49 ---
D #### ##### #### ### #### #### ##### ### #### ####
A ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ##
I #### #### #### ## ## #### ## ## ##### #### ## ##
L ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ##
Y ## ## ##### ## ### ## ## ## ##### ## ## ## ## ####
THE UPDATE ON AMERICA'S EDUCATION REFORM EFFORTS
www.negp.gov
TEACHER GUARANTEE
The most controversial
principle of a teacher-
improvement plan was accepted
by the Board of Regents of the
University System of Georgia:
The system will take back
teachers within two years if
they are not performing up to
standards (Suggs, ATLANTA
CONSTITUTION/JOURNAL, 5/1).
One caveat was made to the
guarantee. The system will
take teachers back only if they
are teaching in their field.
According to the paper, out-of-
field teaching is most
prevalent in Ga. at the
secondary level, where an
estimated 50% of all history
and 66% of the physical science
public high school teachers in
the state teach out-of-field.
Ten guiding principles of
teacher preparation were agreed
upon by the board, which fall
into three categories: quality
assurance, collaboration and
responsiveness.
Final approval of the
principles, which are currently
being reviewed by colleges of
education and public schools,
is expected to take place in
July.
__________ __________
| SPOTLIGHT |
| |
| THE HEAD OF THE CLASS |
| |
| Education reform that |
| centers on boosting student |
| achievement depends on a |
| teaching force prepared to |
| teach to higher standards. |
| One way to measure this is |
| to examine the number of |
| teachers who hold a degree |
| or certificate in their |
| main teaching assignment. |
| |
| Okla. is the only state |
| that increased the percent |
| of teachers with a certifi- |
| cate in their main teaching |
| area. Minn. leads the na- |
| tion in the percentage of |
| secondary school teachers |
| who hold a degree in their |
| main teaching assignment. |
| |
| Officials in both states |
| point to a concerted effort |
| to improve teacher pre- |
| service and in-service |
| training and strong |
| licensure regulations as |
| reasons that may have led |
| to more teachers teaching |
| in-field. |
|_____________________________|
============== QUOTE OF THE DAY ==============
"National school reform will be thwarted without serious
attention to Goal 4, [teacher training and professional
development]."
"Report of the Goal 4 Resource Group," National Education Goals
Panel.
NOTE TO READERS: The following was previously published at
the National Education Goals Panel's web site (www.negp.gov) as
the "NEGP Monthly," June 1998.
==== OVERVIEW ====
The quality of America's teaching force is perhaps the
single determining factor as to whether our students, schools and
communities are able to achieve the National Education Goals.
Teachers who themselves face challenging standards in college and
relevant in-service training stand prepared to teach students to
the higher, more rigorous standards outlined by most states and
some national organizations.
The National Education Goals Panel is producing a series of
NEGP Monthlies that focus on states that succeed on NEGP
indicators. Each month top-performing states or the states that
have improved the most on indicators reported in the annual 1997
Goals Report, "Building a Nation of Learners," will be featured
in the Monthly. Programs and policies identified by state
officials as key to attaining top results will be presented each
month.
This month's issue focuses on Goal 4, Teacher Education and
Professional Development. Prior 1998 Monthlies covered
successful state efforts to increase the immunization rate for 2-
year-olds, a Goal 1 indicator; performance on Advanced Placement
(AP), a Goal 3 indicator; and math achievement, a Goal 3 and Goal
5 indicator.
"National school reform will be thwarted without serious
attention to Goal 4," the teacher training and professional
development goal, according to National Education Goals Panel's
advisors. According to this group, the role of the teacher is
central to the effort to transform schools and increase student
achievement.
The Panel's "Report of the Goal 4 Resource Group" points out
that despite past attempts to offer "teacher-proof" curricula and
materials, these programs have consistently failed to improve
student achievement.
Resource Group members recommended a series of indicators to
measure progress toward reaching Goal 4. Among the indicators
are:
Teacher Preparation
the percentage of teachers who hold an undergraduate or
graduate degree in their main teaching assignment;
the percentage of teachers who hold a teaching certificate
in their main teaching assignment.
The Resource Group selected the first indicator because the
"proper teacher preparation and teaching assignments" of teachers
are essential "if there is to be a reasonable chance of
increasing student learning." The indicator reports on the
percentage of teachers who majored in one of nine different
subjects and have been assigned to teach the subject in which
they majored.
The proper credentialing of teachers for their main teaching
assignment also is an "essential factor related to effective
teaching," according to Resource Group advisers. It is easier to
find teachers with certificates than with degrees in their main
teaching assignment. Currently across the United States, 63% of
public school high school teachers have a degree in their main
teaching assignment, while 95% have a certificate.
Teacher Assignments
The Goals Panel reports data for states and the nation as a
whole on the two teacher assignment indicators. The data show
that the top performing state for public secondary school
teachers who hold a degree in their main teaching assignment in
1994 is Minnesota, with 81% of teachers. Next are: North Dakota
and Rhode Island, with 76%; New York and Nebraska, with 75%; and
Connecticut, with 74%. However, none of these states showed a
statistically significant improvement in the percentage of
teachers who held a degree in their main teaching assignment
between 1991 and 1994. In fact, nine states showed a decrease in
the percentage of teachers assigned to work in-field.
The percentage of public secondary school teachers who hold
a teaching certificate in their main teaching assignment is above
90% in all states, but one at 89% Top-performers include North
Dakota and Rhode Island, at 100% in 1994; Connecticut, Kansas,
Michigan, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and
Wyoming, at 99%. Oklahoma is the only state that improved
performance from 1991 to 1994, from 98% to 99%.
Emerson Elliot, director of new professional teacher
standards development at National Council for Accreditation of
Teacher Education (NCATE), attributes the poor progress made in
this indicator to burgeoning student enrollment figures
nationwide, which apply pressure to local school officials to
hire a certified teacher, regardless of professional background,
to stand before a class. "Assignments for teaching in- or out-
of-field are made at the local level," he said. "People may be
prepared, but not for [the area] they are assigned to teach."
Data from the U.S. Department of Education, National Center
for Education Statistics, support Elliot's theory. Enrollment in
public schools at all levels has increased each year since 1985.
For example, increases in enrollment figures for grades 6-8 and
9-12, where specialty teachers are most needed, were reported to
be: for grades 6-8 -- from 9,636,000 in 1991 to 10,270,000 in
1994, a 7% increase; and for grades 9-12 -- from 11,541,000 in
1991 to 12,214,000 in 1994, a 6% increase.
Art Wise, president of NCATE, agrees that the lack of
progress in the percentage of teachers who hold a degree in their
main teaching assignment "is clearly a problem that lies at the
intersection of supply and demand -- in this case, more of the
problem is at the demand side." He adds that "many school
systems are frequently in the position of having to hire people
to fill multiple roles, and that is another cause of the problem
... particularly in small and rural schools."
Inner-city school systems pose another challenge, according
to Wise. "At the going wage and circumstance of many urban
schools, there is an insufficient supply of labor willing to work
at the price and in those conditions," he said.
While state officials interviewed were reluctant to assign a
direct connection between state programs or policies and their
state's success in one of the teacher training indicators, they
concurred that an elevated level of statewide attention paid to
the need for improved teacher quality was the catalyst for
colleges of education and school districts to provide higher
quality teacher training.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is the only state that improved performance on
either indicator. They improved in the percentage of public
secondary school teachers who hold a teaching certificate in
their main teaching assignment. The catalyst for change in
Oklahoma's teacher preparation programs was a 1991 report issued
by the state Legislature's Task Force on Teacher Preparation,
according to Dr. Floyd Coppedge, secretary of education for the
state. Preparing Teachers for the Twenty-First Century called
for systemic reform of the teacher preparation system and
resulted in the passage of HB 2246, which created the Oklahoma
Commission for Teacher Preparation (OCTP) in 1992.
Coppedge described a paradigm shift that occurred with the
emergence of the OCTP. Specifically, state officials realized
that there needed to be a "competency-based approach to teacher
training, rather than a system driven by credit hours and
courses," he said. While the OCTP was still in its nascent
stages, Coppedge said that colleges, universities and others
involved in teacher training were well aware that a sea change in
teacher preparation and professional development was about to
occur, given the amount of attention paid to the issue by state
officials, and they were gearing up to improve the preparation
and training of teachers.
A second report, Report on Educator Preparation and
Professional Development, was released in 1994, which set the
stage for additional reform. Under the direction of
Representative Don McCorkell, chairman of the OCTP, and Senator
Penny Williams, vice-chairman of the OCTP, the report made
several key recommendations in the areas of: recruitment,
retention and re-entry; preservice teacher preparation; in-
service teacher professional development; administrator
preparation; licensure and certification; trailblazer schools and
model learning program; assessment; and career education.
For example, it was recommended that:
Certification requirements for all teachers and
administrators, whether they enter the field through a
traditional program or an alternative route, should be
consistent with the competencies outlined within the
Commission's report;
A five-tier certification system (PK-3, 1-8, 5-8, 7-12 and
K-12) should be created;
Licensure and certification should be consistent with
teacher assessment in each content area;
The entire certification system should be evaluated and
streamlined in order to eliminate irrelevant categories.
Attention should also be given to provisional certification
levels and endorsements;
A Teacher Competency Review Panel appointed by the OCTP
should be established for reviewing and acting upon
recommendations for certification by petition from teacher
candidates who have not demonstrated competency through the
state approved methods of assessment offered by Oklahoma
teacher preparation programs; and
The State Legislature should provide funding for teachers
interested in pursuing assessment and subsequent
certification from the National Board for Professional
Teaching Standards and should provide appropriate
compensation for such certification.
Coppedge pointed out that in 1995, the Legislature passed HB
1549, a law that requires creation of a new competency-based
teacher preparation program. Under the new law, teacher
preparation programs at colleges and universities are required to
offer their programs for state approval and accreditation through
a new process that mandates programs to be competency-based,
approved and accredited by the OCTP.
Development and approval of institutional plans are based on
NCATE standards, recommendations made in the Commission's Report
on Educator Preparation and Professional Development, and other
standards established by the OCTP.
The law also requires the development of a new competency-
based state assessment for teacher preparation. The new
assessment includes a test in general education, which includes
sections on math, science, social studies and literature;
professional education, which includes questions on topics such
as child development and learning styles; and a subject matter
test, explained Royle Vagle, executive director, Oklahoma
Commission for Teacher Preparation.
Coppedge said that simultaneous with the development of the
OCTP, Oklahoma forged a stronger partnership with NCATE.
Oklahoma is the first NCATE/State Partnership to have a majority
of its state-reviewed teacher education programs designated for
"national recognition" by NCATE. Ray Nystrand, dean, University
of Louisville School of Education and a member of NCATE's State
partnership Board, praised Oklahoma's renewal as "exemplary."
Minnesota
Minnesota leads the nation in the percentage of public
secondary school teachers who hold a degree in their main
teaching assignment at 81%. The next closest states, North
Dakota and Rhode Island have only 76% and other states have as
few as 50%. No state has made statistically seen improvement and
nine states have declined.
In Minnesota, licensing regulations have stipulated that
teachers must have a major in their field since the early 1970s,
according to Dr. Judy Wain, director of the Minnesota Board of
Teaching. From the regulations: "A secondary school classroom
teaching license shall qualify the holder to teach in any
secondary school those subjects or field in which a college major
has been completed."
In assignments that are for one-half time or less during the
school day, teachers can gain a license if they have at least a
minor in the field they are teaching. However, all secondary
school teachers licensed to teach after September 1966, who had
completed a minor in the subject or field in which they were
teaching, had to acquire the "minimum established by the Board of
Teaching for major preparation in order to continue to be
licensed to each in the subject or field." According to the
regulations, this had to be done within seven years after the
initial licensure.
Don Krukow, state director of educational licensing,
Minnesota Department of Children, Families, and Learning,
reflects on reasons beyond regulations that have led to a higher
percentage of the state's teachers holding a degree in their main
teaching assignment. "It has been a pervasive value of the
people in the upper mid-West that they place a high value on
education -- from early childhood to post-secondary and adult
learning. It stands to reason, then, that with all the focus and
energy going into educating the young, when these students grow
older [and enter the teaching profession] they bring with them
that passion for learning and discovery."
Minnesota, like Oklahoma, is beginning to move in a new
direction for teacher training, "revising all licensure rules for
what teachers should know and be able to do," according to Wain.
The state has adopted Interstate New Teacher Assessment and
Support Consortium (INTASC) principles, which call for a common
core of knowledge and skills for all beginning teachers, as the
foundation for all teaching licenses. The new teacher standards
also relate to graduation standards for students.
Three phases of teacher preparation and development are
detailed by the Minnesota Board of Teaching: initial teacher
preparation; a teacher's first year of teaching; and continuing
education/relicensure. For initial teacher preparation, the new
system will focus on standards and assessments as the basis for
licensure. More flexibility will guide licensure procedures.
The Board also has sponsored workshops to assist colleges with
understanding of INTASC principles and graduation standards.
Wain holds that the shift to a standards-driven model of
training and professional development will only underscore the
need for teachers to earn a major in their field of teaching.
==== WORK OF RELATED INTEREST ====
Twenty-five states provide support for teachers
participating in advanced certification with the National Board
for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). Many think the
NBPTS "holds promise for identifying and recognizing excellent
teaching through its national certification program."
Other states are working to implement recommendations of The
Commission on Teaching and Learning. A "three-legged stool" of
teacher quality is described in the Commission's report, "What
Matters Most: Teaching for America's Future." They include:
accreditation, licensing and certification.
Accreditation
Specifically, the report notes a "rigorous" set of teacher
standards developed by NCATE. NCATE is a coalition of 31
professional associations of teachers, teacher educators, content
specialists and local and state policy makers. Based in
Washington, D.C., NCATE's mission is to help establish high
quality teacher preparation through the process of professional
accreditation of schools, colleges and departments of education.
Initial Licensing
Another group, INTASC, formed in 1987 under the auspices of
the Council of Chief State School Officers, to promote standards-
based reform of teacher preparation, licensing and professional
development and to establish uniform standards for initial
teacher licensure among participating states.
Jean Miller, INTASC director, describes INTASC as a
"collection of state perspectives on teacher licensure." INTASC
provides a dialogue among state education leaders as they
"develop a collective state voice of what they value in the
licensure process," notes Miller.
Currently, 33 states are members of INTASC. The consortium
of state education agencies, higher education institutions and
national education organizations was created to support the needs
of state education agencies responsible for teacher licensing and
professional development.
INTASC emerged at the same time as the National Board for
Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), a member of INTASC.
State officials were keenly aware that they would have to
overhaul teacher licensure procedures in order for teachers to
meet the more rigorous standards of national board certification.
INTASC members already have established a set of standards
for what every beginning teacher should know and be able to do.
The consortium also has developed content-specific standards for
licensure in the disciplines and sample teacher portfolio
assessments.
INTASC's efforts focus on three types of tests:
a subject-matter test;
a test of teacher knowledge that will assess a candidate's
understanding of child development and theories of teaching
and learning; and
teacher portfolio assessments, which assess classroom
performance.
INTASC also is working to develop content-specific standards
based on the model core standards for beginning teachers. These
standards for teachers' content knowledge are directly linked
with national content standards for students.
A group of INTASC states have pooled resources to design
prototype assessments based on English-language-arts and math
standards. Another group of INTASC states has underwritten work
associated with developing the test of teaching knowledge. The
consortium makes tasks that would be overwhelming for any one
state to accomplish much easier to tackle.
Advanced Certification
The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards
(NBPTS) is the standard bearer for advanced teaching
certification, according to What Matters Most. NBPTS is a non-
profit, non-partisan organization of teachers and other education
stakeholders working to establish high and rigorous standards for
teachers.
Currently, the NBPTS offers certificates in six areas,
ranging from Early Childhood/Generalist to Adolescence and Young
Adulthood/Mathematics. Generalist certificates are for teachers
who help develop students' skills and knowledge across all areas
of the curriculum. Generalists may teach all subjects in a self-
contained classroom, one or more subjects on an interdisciplinary
team, or a single subject infused with ideas from other subjects.
Candidates for National Board Certification participate in a
two-part assessment based on standards set in a NBPTS policy
statement, What Teachers Should Know and Be Able To Do. Teachers
develop a portfolio of their classroom activities that includes
student work, videotapes and other teaching exhibits. They also
complete assessment exercises that examine the teacher's
knowledge, skills and abilities in situations across the age
range and topics of the certificate field.
In its report, the Commission recommends that the framework
developed by the NBPTS be "used to guide education policy across
the states so that every teacher prepares at an NCATE-accredited
institution, demonstrates teaching competence as defined by
INTASC standards for initial licensing and pursues accomplished
practice as defined by the National Board for Professional
Teaching Standards."
INTASC Beginning Teacher Standards
The following are draft standards for beginning teacher
licensing and development, under development by INTASC:
The teacher understands the central concepts, tools of
inquiry and structures of the discipline(s) he or she
teaches and can create learning experiences that make these
aspects of subject matter meaningful for students.
The teacher understands how children learn and develop, and
can provide learning opportunities that support their
intellectual, social and personal development.
The teacher understands how students differ in their
approaches to learning and creates instructional
opportunities that are adapted to diverse learners.
The teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional
strategies to encourage students' development of critical
thinking, problem solving and performance skills.
The teacher uses an understanding of individual and group
motivation and behavior to create a learning environment
that encourages positive social interaction, active
engagement in learning and self-motivation.
The teacher uses knowledge of effective verbal, nonverbal
and media communication techniques to foster active inquiry,
collaboration and supportive interaction in the classroom.
The teacher plans instruction based upon knowledge of
subject matter, students, the community and curriculum
goals.
The teacher understands and uses formal and informal
assessment strategies to evaluate and ensure the continuous
intellectual, social and physical development of the
learner.
The teacher is a reflective practitioner who continually
evaluates the effects of his/her choices and actions on
others (students, parents and other professionals in the
learning community) and who actively seeks out opportunities
to grow professionally.
The teacher fosters relationships with school colleagues,
parents and agencies in the larger community to support
students' learning and well-being.
=== THE CUTTING EDGE ===
GEORGIA'S GUARANTEE
In a related story, the most controversial principle of a
teacher-improvement plan was accepted by the Board of Regents of
the University System of Georgia: The system will take back
teachers within two years if they are not performing up to
standards (Suggs, ATLANTA CONSTITUTION/JOURNAL).
One caveat was made to the guarantee. The system will take
teachers back only if they are teaching in their field.
According to the paper, out-of-field teaching is most prevalent
in Ga. at the secondary level, where an estimated 50% of all
history and 66% of the physical science public high school
teachers in the state teach out-of-field.
The regents were given a set of nine principles, including
the take-back guarantee, at their March meeting, to which they
added one more and made changes to several others. The
additional principal is to "guarantee the system's graduates in
early childhood education can demonstrate accomplishment in
teaching children to read and to do mathematics," writes the
paper.
The nine guiding principles of teacher preparation are
divided into three categories: quality assurance, collaboration
and responsiveness. For example, the university system will work
with the state DoEd and the Professional Standards Commission to
end out-of-field teaching and the university system teacher-
preparation programs will extensively work with P-12 schools in
mentoring, induction and professional development programs for
teachers and leaders.
Details surrounding the principles are being discussed by
representatives of the 15 teacher-education programs and public
school officials, reports the paper. Final approval for the
principles is expected to take place in July.
CHARTER SCHOOLS MOVEMENT REACHES HIGHER EDUCATION
While charter schools may be the rage for K-12 schools, two
Calif. state universities are the harbingers for using the
charter school concept for their colleges of education (Haynes,
L.A. TIMES, 4/23). In 1993, Cal State Los Angeles became the
first university in the nation to have a charter school of
education.
University officials say the impetus for the charter came
from Gov. Pete Wilson's (R) class-size reduction initiative for
grades K-3. According to the paper, about 22,000 individuals are
working statewide with emergency teaching certificates to fill
the gap created by the class-size reduction program. Cal State
L.A. officials turned to the charter concept as a way to shorten
the time required to get new teachers into the classroom. The
TIMES explains that a charter allows colleges of education to
write its own rules and be exempt from some regulations governing
the state university system.
Dean Allen A. Mori pointed to several changes in the college
of education's operating structure since it became a charter:
>From the paper:
"A streamlined, interdisciplinary approach that enables
undergraduates to earn their bachelor's degrees and teaching
credentials in four years instead of five;
New programs get off the ground in a matter of months
instead of years because of fewer regulations;
Innovative programs have attracted financial support from
corporate and private donations."
Although the National Council of Accreditation of Teacher
Education made its standards for accreditation more rigorous, Cal
State L.A.'s School of Education received the same high marks in
1997 as it did in 1991, writes the paper.
Cal State Northridge's college of education is on the
threshold of joining the L.A. campus in adopting a charter school
for its college of education. "We are facing many challenges in
the way we prepare teachers for the classroom," said Northridge
college of education's Dean Carolyn Ellner. "We have to adopt
ways that allow us to think outside the box."
Northridge officials also attribute the class-size reduction
initiative as the motivator to make their program more flexible.
Cal State Northridge Dean Blenda Wilson has convened a study
group to discuss the possibility of forming a charter.
Proponents praise the charter concept for its ability to allow
the school to launch programs quickly to meet changing needs,
encourage university and public school teachers to combine forces
to improve student achievement and to build a more efficient
teacher training system, writes the paper.
==== FROM THE LIBRARY ====
Cohen, David and Hill, Heather. (1998). Instructional Policy and
Classroom Performance: The Mathematics Reform in California;
Consortium for Policy Research in Education. University of
Pennsylvania, Graduate School of Education.
Darling-Hammond, Linda and Ball, Deborah. "Teaching for High
Standards: What Policymakers Need to Know and Be Able to Do."
National Education Goals Panel. www.negp.gov
Dilworth, Mary and Imig, David. (June 1995). Professional
Teacher Development and the Reform Agenda. ERIC Clearinghouse on
Teaching and Teacher Education. American Association of Colleges
for Teacher Education. One Dupont Circle. Suite 610.
Washington, D.C. 20036-1186. 202/293-2450.
Doyle, Dennis and Pimentel, Susan. Raising the Standard. (1997).
A Standards Work Project of the Coalition for Goals 2000.
202/835-2000. Corwin Press, Inc. 805/499-9774.
Filling a Crack in the Middle: The Need for Staff Development in
the Middle Grades. (December 1997). National Staff Development
Council. P.O. Box 240. Oxford, Ohio 45056. 800/727-7288 or
513/523-6029. FAX: 513/523-0638.
Guskey, Thomas and Sparks, Dennis. Exploring the Relationship
Between Staff Development and Improvements in Students' Learning.
JOURNAL OF STAFF DEVELOPMENT. Fall 1996. vol. 17,l no. 4.
What Matters Most: Teaching for America's Future. (September
1996). Report of the National Commission on Teaching & America's
Future. Teachers College, Columbia University. Box 117. 525 West
120th Street. New York, New York 10027. 212/678-3204.
==== FOR MORE INFORMATION ====
Education Trust. 1725 K Street NW. Suite 200. Washington, D.C.
20006. 202/293-1217.
Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLEP). 1
Massachusetts Avenue NW. Suite 700. Washington, D.C. 20001.
202/336-7038.
ISLEP is a consortium of 29 states and 12 national
professional associations that have collaborated in crafting
standards for school leaders' licensure assessments based on
school-leader standards and is in the process of developing
professional development portfolios linked to the leadership
standards. The standards themselves were crafted through
the efforts of the states working together and a thorough
review of the literature on effective schools and its
relation to school leadership, as well as the INTASC teacher
standards and student-content standards.
Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium
(INTASC). Council of Chief State School Officers. One
Massachusetts Avenue NW. Suite 700. Washington, D.C. 20001-1431
202/336-7048.
INTASC's goal is to promote standards-based reform of
teacher preparation, licensing and professional development,
with the explicit goal of helping students meet higher
standards.
Currently, 33 states are members of INTASC, which is
administered at the Council of Chief State School Officers.
The consortium of state education agencies, higher education
institutions and national education organizations was
created in 1987, with a primary purpose of supporting the
needs of state education agencies responsible for teacher
licensing and professional development.
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. 2655
Evergreen Road. Suite 400. Southfield, Michigan 48076. 248/351-
4444.
The NBPTS is a non-profit, non-partisan organization of
teachers and other education stakeholders working to
establish high and rigorous standards for teachers.
Currently, certificates are available in six areas,
ranging from Early Childhood/Generalist to Adolescence and
Young Adulthood/Mathematics. Teachers must complete a two-
part assessment: assessment exercises that examine their
knowledge, skills and abilities in situations across the age
range and topics of the certificate field; and they must
assemble a portfolio of their classroom work.
National Commission on Teaching and America's Future's state
partnership initiative. Teachers College, Columbia University.
Box 117. 525 West 120th Street. New York, New York 10027.
212/678-3204.
A group of about 13 states have formed a partnership to
implement the Commission's recommendations in its
publication, "What Matters Most: Teaching for America's
Future." The states' governors, state education
departments, legislative leaders, and business and education
leaders are working together to develop strategies for
improving the quality of teaching. Each state is engaged in
conducting a policy inventory to diagnose the condition of
education and identify policies that support or hinder
quality teaching. Each state also will develop a strategic
plan to guide future steps toward building a high-quality
teaching force.
National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education. 2010
Massachusetts Avenue NW. Suite 500. Washington, D.C. 20036-1023;
202/466-7496. www.ncate.org.
National Council of State Legislatures. 1560 Broadway, Suite 700.
Denver, Colo. 80202. 303/830-2200.
Monitors state legislation in various policy areas,
including education. Produces "Legisbriefs" that summarize
current education issues and include references and
contacts.
National Governors' Association. Hall of the States. 444 North
Capitol Street. Suite 267. Washington, D.C. 20001-1512. 202/624-
5341. www.nga.org.
The National Governors' Association is a bipartisan
organization of, by, and for the nation's Governors. NGA
provides assistance in solving state-focused problems,
information on state innovations and practices, including in
education, and a bipartisan forum for Governors to
establish, influence and implement policy on national
issues. NGA also offers the NGA Center for Best Practices,
available on-line at www.nga.org. April 1998 highlights
include public-private partnerships for child care and
policies that promote responsible fatherhood and NGA's
policy on childcare and early education.
National Staff Development Council. P.O. Box 240. Oxford, Ohio
45056. 800/727-7288 or 513/523-6029. FAX: 513/523-0638.
The National Staff Development Council is in the process of
producing a Consumer Guide for results-based staff
development for the middle grades. NSDC has published a
series of Standards for Staff Development for elementary and
high schools.
Motorola's Executive Leadership Institute (ELI). 847-538-7465
Motorola University and the Illinois Principals Association
joined forces to produce the Executive Leadership Institute,
a partnership designed to improve the skills of existing
principals. The five-day institute is a customized version
of Motorola's Manager of Managers Program (MOM), a 40-hour
training session focusing on what Motorola's chief executive
officer expects from company leaders. ELI participants are
expected to increase knowledge and skills in four areas:
"shape the future;" "think in new terms;" "seek
alternatives;" and "dare to take risks." A central purpose
of the training, similar to the MOM program, is to improve
leadership skills of current principals and use the new
knowledge as a leverage for change.
Project 2061. American Association for the Advancement of
Science. 1200 New York Avenue NW. Washington, D.C. 20005.
202/326-6400.
The American Association for the Advancement of Science
created Project 2061 in 1985 to guide the reform of K-12
education in science, mathematics and technology. Project
2061 has conducted numerous professional development
workshops with K-12 teachers, administrators and university
faculty focused on standards-based education reform.
U.S. Department of Education, Professional Development
Competition. Office of Educational Research and Improvement.
U.S. Department of Education. 202/219/2203.
The National Awards Program for Model Professional
Development began in 1996 to highlight and recognize schools
and school districts with exemplary professional development
programs. The program identifies a variety of comprehensive
models of pre-K-12 professional development that illustrate
the Department's mission and principles of professional
development. Model winners are broadly focused:
Professional growth is an integral part of school culture;
addresses the needs of all students; and promotes
professional development practices that ensure equity by
being free of bias and accessible to all educators.
Recognition under the awards program is based on how well
applicants demonstrate that their professional development
programs result in increased student outcomes.
_______________________________________________________________
| National Education Goals Panel |
| 1255 22nd Street NW; Suite 502; Washington, D.C. 20037 |
| 202/632-0957 (Fax); e-mail: negp@goalline.org |
| Web site: www.negp.gov |
|_______________________________________________________________|
Click here to return to The 1998 Daily Report Card
Click here to return to OFCN's
Academy Program
Click here to return to OFCN's Main Index Page.
Webmaster@ofcn.org