A new PDK International and Gallup poll finds 60 percent of Americans support increasing the rigor of admission requirements for teacher-preparation schools, reports Allie Bidwell for U.S. News & World Report. Additionally, 80 percent support use of a board certification exam such as lawyers and medical professionals must take before earning a license to practice. A national board certification for teachers already exists, but is optional, and only about 3 percent of the nation’s 3 million teachers have met requirements for it. In addition to raising requirements for teaching, most surveyed said those training to become teachers should spend at least one year practicing teaching under the guidance of a certified teacher. Forty-four percent said those training to become teachers should spend a year doing so, while another 27 percent said the practice period should last two years. Americans also see value in evaluating teacher performance — primarily to help teachers improve their ability to teach — but there is little support for using standardized test scores in those evaluations. This may stem from frustration with the failures of No Child Left Behind, which significantly increased the amount of testing in schools under the premise that increased testing would raise student achievement. More

Source:  Public Education News Blast

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Los Angeles Education Partnership (LAEP) is an education support organization that works as a collaborative partner in high-poverty communities.