萌妹社 Commends Commission on No Child Left Behind
CONTACT:
Jade Floyd,
amangino@aacte.org
or 202.478.4596
Washington, D.C. (February 16, 2007) This week, the Commission on No Child Left Behind () released its final report and recommendations. The 萌妹社 (萌妹社) congratulates the Commission for producing a comprehensive set of recommendations geared toward improving the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).
鈥溍让蒙 is particularly pleased that the Commission recognizes the challenges and commitment required for the preparation of high-quality teachers and school leaders,鈥 said Dr. Sharon P. Robinson, president and CEO of 萌妹社. She also praised the Commission for acknowledging the strategic significances of educator quality, the role of schools of education, and our commitment to more ambitious student achievement goals.
萌妹社 agrees with the Commission that schools of education must be more explicit about their intention to work with the local communities to produce the needed teachers. However, 萌妹社 questions whether this should be accomplished through federal policy levers such as hinging federal student aid eligibility on how well an institution meets the goals its sets for addressing teacher shortage areas. Instead, 萌妹社 asserts that schools of education should develop and meet these goals to address teacher shortage areas through the accreditation process and through expanding the Teacher Quality Enhancement Grant program in Title II of the Higher Education Act.
萌妹社 will work with the profession鈥檚 accreditors to ensure that the ability of a school of education to meet the education needs of the community is a key evaluating factor in the accreditation process. Every institution already partners in some way with P-12 schools to make sure that teachers are well-prepared to teach effectively in the classroom; the Teacher Quality Enhancement Grant program has been one of the tools that have allowed these partnerships to form and strengthen. 萌妹社 recommends significantly expanding the grant program to allow for a much broader participation in the profession.
萌妹社 maintains that the current definition in NCLB of 鈥渉ighly qualified teacher鈥 (HQT) is limited in its breadth and does not ensure that teachers are effective. The current definition requires that teachers have met credentialing requirements and are competent in their content areas, but it does not ensure that teachers are able to effectively teach their content to students. The Commission鈥檚 proposed Highly Qualified and Effective Teacher status would measure a teacher鈥檚 effectiveness through student learning gains as well as through principal and peer evaluations.
鈥淲hile 萌妹社 supports developing measures of teacher effectiveness in relation to student achievement, it cautions that much capacity building is needed before any mandates should be considered,鈥 said Robinson.
萌妹社 is pleased to see that the Commission recognizes the barriers teachers face when moving to teach in other states. 萌妹社 endorses the Commission鈥檚 recommendation that states develop reciprocity agreements for certification and licensure that would facilitate teachers鈥 transitions to other states. 萌妹社 is currently managing a state certification consortium for the mid-Atlantic region, the Meritorious New Teacher Candidate Project, that is increasing teacher mobility, and the Association looks forward to working with others to promote this model across the country (see ).
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