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Eric.ed.gov – Alabama’s Education Report Card, 2009-2010

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: In a more consistent and viable manner than ever before, education in Alabama is moving toward its ultimate goal of providing every student with a quality education, thereby preparing them for work, college, and life after high school. Alabama’s graduation rates from 2002 to 2008 increased significantly, tripling the national average increase and ranking fourth in the country. Alabama’s progress in reading continues to prove the state’s reading initiative is effective. Educational assessments clearly show the historic gains Alabama made in reading in 2007 (greatest gains in Reading in America and in the history of the National Assessment of Educational Progress) continue to remain steady. Alabama’s trailblazing distance learning program, ACCESS, remains a spectacle of achievement recognized and reported on by national television programs and newspapers across… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Certification Requirements and Teacher Quality: A Comparison of Alternative Routes to Teaching. Working Paper 64

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Traditionally, states have required individuals complete a program of study in a university-based teacher preparation program in order to be licensed to teach. In recent years, however, various “alternative certification” programs have been developed and the number of teachers obtaining teaching certificates through routes other than completing a traditional teacher preparation program has skyrocketed. In this paper I use a rich longitudinal data base from Florida to compare the characteristics of alternatively certified teachers with their traditionally prepared colleagues. I then analyze the relative effectiveness of teachers who enter the profession through different pathways by estimating “value-added” models of student achievement. In general, alternatively certified teachers have stronger pre-service qualifications than do traditionally prepared teachers, with the least restrictive alternative attracting the most qualified perspective teachers. These… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Blueprint for Change in Georgia: State Teacher Policy Yearbook, 2010

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The 2009 “State Teacher Policy Yearbook” provided a comprehensive review of states’ policies that impact the teaching profession. As a companion to last year’s comprehensive state-by-state analysis, the 2010 edition provides each state with an individualized “Blueprint for Change,” building off last year’s “Yearbook” goals and recommendations. State teacher policy addresses a great many areas, including teacher preparation, certification, evaluation and compensation. With so many moving parts, it may be difficult for states to find a starting point on the road to reform. To this end, this paper provides a state-specific roadmap, organized in three main sections. Section 1 identifies policy concerns that need critical attention, the areas of highest priority for state policymakers. Section 2 outlines “low-hanging fruit,” policy changes that can be implemented in relatively… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Alternative Certification and Retention of Secondary Math and Science Teachers: A Study Based on “SASS/TFS”

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: In light of shortages of mathematics and science teachers, alternative certification was introduced in the mid-1980s. This study examined the effect of alternative certification among math and science teachers who moved to a different school or left the profession. This was accomplished using the national “SASS” and “TFS” databases. The results indicated that alternatively certified teachers were comparable in their commitment to their current school and the teaching profession when compared with their traditionally certified colleagues. Findings are discussed with respect to their relevance for education policy makers and school administrators. Link til kilde

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Eric.ed.gov – Tracking Growth: Studying First-Year Teacher Development under a High-Stakes Evaluation System

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Students who have more effective teachers are more likely to attend college, earn a higher salary, and live in higher socioeconomic neighborhoods (Chetty, Friedman, & Rockoff, 2012). As such, teacher effectiveness is critically important, and identifying teachers who demonstrate high potential for growth in their first year of teaching could be a real asset to the districts in which they teach. The purpose of this project is to determine which teachers seem to measurably improve their instructional practice over the course of their first-year, measured via a series of observations conducted by normed observers using a common rubric. Data came from 965 first-year teachers recruited and trained by alternative certification programs in 15 geographic regions: Delaware; Baltimore; Washington, DC; Chicago; Charlotte; Nashville; Memphis; Texas (Fort Worth, Dallas,… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Troops to Teachers: Program Helped Address Teacher Shortages. Report to Congressional Requesters.

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This report examines the effectiveness of Troops to Teachers (TTT), which helped former military personnel become certified and employed teachers in school districts with low income populations experiencing teacher shortages. Information came from the TTT’s database and from 1998 study, Profile of TTT, by the National Center for Education Information. Program officials from 10 of the 24 state offices that joined TTT completed interviews. Researchers reviewed reports by research organizations documenting factors that could have affected program participation. Overall, 13,756 former military personnel were accepted into TTT, and 3,821 were hired as teachers from 1994-2000. These results may be low, since data are incomplete. Nearly all of those hired remained in teaching after the first year. Compared to teachers nationwide, more TTT teachers taught math, science, special… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Addressing Teacher Shortages in Disadvantaged Schools: Lessons from Two Institute of Education Sciences Studies. NCEE Evaluation Brief. NCEE 2013-4018

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Schools serving low-income students struggle to attract effective teachers, particularly in science and math. In response to these staffing difficulties, states have tried to lower the barriers to becoming a teacher by establishing “alternative routes to certification.” These routes enable teachers to begin teaching before completing all the requirements for certification and, in many cases, require less education coursework than traditional teacher preparation routes in the same states. Currently, as many as two-fifths of new teachers enter the profession through alternative routes. Most programs providing alternative routes to certification admit most applicants, although a few, including Teach For America and the Teaching Fellows programs, are highly selective, admitting fewer than 15 percent of applicants. To provide evidence on the effectiveness of teachers from alternative routes to certification,… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – 2014 Teacher Prep Review: A Review of the Nation’s Teacher Preparation Programs

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: “Teacher Prep Review 2014” is the second edition of the National Council on Teacher Quality’s (NCTQ’s) annual assessment of the nation’s 2,400 teacher prep programs. The “Review” uncovers early evidence that teacher prep programs are beginning to make changes. It arrives at a time of heightened, unprecedented activity across the nation to improve teacher preparation. Ever so slowly, the United States is taking a harder look at how its teacher preparation schools are improving the quality of the teachers they produce. The signs are everywhere–from proposed federal action to state legislatures and school boards passing new oversight laws and regulations, to a newly marshaled push for stronger accreditation by the institutions themselves. The country is finally waking up to the critical importance of improving teacher preparation quality… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – The Relative Effectiveness of Traditional and Alternative Teacher Preparation Programs: A Review of Recent Research. MHEC Research Brief

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Teacher preparation refers to a “state-approved course of study, the completion of which signifies that an enrollee has met all the state’s educational or training requirements for initial certification or licensure to teach in the state’s elementary or secondary schools” (Department of Education, 2016, p. 6). The widespread concern for the quality of teacher preparation has extended to both traditional programs at four-year institutions and alternative programs created to address teacher shortages. This brief seeks to inform policies on teacher preparation by reviewing research on the effects of teacher certification and preparation programs in relation to student performance and teacher outcomes. Main findings include: (1) Traditional teacher preparation generally refers to a four- or five-year undergraduate program at a postsecondary institution. Alternative preparation programs, such as Teach… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – 2014 Teacher Prep Review: A Review of the Nation’s Teacher Preparation Programs. Revised

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Ever so slowly, the United States is taking a harder look at how its teacher preparation schools are improving the quality of the teachers they produce. The signs are everywhere–from proposed federal action to state legislatures and school boards passing new oversight laws and regulations, to a newly marshaled push for stronger accreditation by the institutions themselves. The country is finally waking up to the critical importance of improving teacher preparation quality to produce more classroom-ready teachers. But as “NCTQ Teacher Prep Review 2014” shows, far more needs to be done to expand the pool of teachers properly prepared to meet the challenges of the contemporary American classroom. Still, an upsurge in quality has begun. It is good news indeed to be able to report some movement,… Continue Reading