Thursday, January 13, 2000
Ky. scores well on improving teachers
Ohio, Indiana in top third of all states
BY ANDREA TORTORA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Kentucky is one of only five states to score higher than a C-plus in a national grading of state efforts to improve teacher quality.
In general, states are failing to attract, screen and keep good teachers, allowing individuals who lack basic skills to run classrooms, according to Quality Counts 2000, a 50-state analysis released Wednesday.
Kentucky placed fifth behind Connecticut, North Carolina, Oklahoma and South Carolina, which each earned a B for efforts in testing future teachers, limiting out-of-field teaching, not allowing teachers to bypass minimum requirements, recruiting and providing incentives and supporting and assessing the performance of new teachers.
Craig Jerald, an editor on the project, said he hopes a call in the report for an end to “emergency credentialing” of teachers would precipitate a crisis and perhaps end the practice.
“As long as they think they can cover classrooms, it gets in the way of what otherwise would be a marketplace reaction,” he said.
Indiana was ninth with a grade of C-plus and Ohio placed 17th with a score of C.
“The good news is that many states have begun to focus on issues of teacher quality,” said Virginia Edwards, Quality Counts editor.
“Teaching matters for student performance and lawmakers seem to be getting the message.”
Overall, the report said millions of children are being taught by unqualified teachers because of loopholes in state regulations on teacher quality.
“While states set standards for who can enter the profession through the front door, they leave cracked open a back door of waivers,” Ms. Edwards said.
While 39 states require prospective teachers to pass a basic skills test, 36 allow waivers for some teachers who failed. While 39 states require teachers to have a major, minor or some course credits in the subjects they teach, all those states except New Jersey allow waivers.
The motive for the loopholes is no secret. School districts often cannot find fully qualified teachers.
The report comes on the heels of U.S. Education Secretary Richard Riley's statement that many states, faced with a teacher shortage, are putting unqualified teachers in the classroom.
“Until states eliminate the loopholes that allow districts to hire unqualified people as teachers, no amount of education reform will improve student learning,” said Christopher Cross, president of the Council for Basic Education, a Washington-based reform group.
Here's how our states fared:
• Kentucky was ranked high in part because of a teacher quality task force that called for more academic content for future and current teachers, better data collection about the profession and more flexibility in the salary structure.
Those recommendations are being worked into a bill for consideration by the General Assembly now in session.
“It's a balancing of the process to raise standards and raise the working conditions to attract the best people into the profession,” said task force member and former school superintendent Rep. Jon Draud, R-Crestview Hills.
The state was also praised for college scholarships offered to teachers and incentives that encourage teachers to seek national certification.
Louise Steidel, a third grade teacher at Cline Elementary in Cold Spring, said one of the biggest challenges for the state will be keeping and supporting new teachers.
“Teachers get offers from other businesses who offer signing bonuses for teachers to go and work there,” said Mrs. Steidel, who is president of the Northern Kentucky Education Association. “It used to be when you taught you were responsible for reading, math and maybe a little social studies. The curriculum is so broad now that we need extra training in technology and science.”
• Indiana's efforts to create a teacher-induction program and portfolio assessment of teachers would make it only the second state to do so.
The $3.8 million proposal stalled in the state Senate last year, but lawmakers and educators remain determined to expand the pilot program. New teachers would be required to present portfolios of their work in the subjects they teach, to determine if they should continue teaching.
• Ohio received praise for continuing efforts to replace its teacher certification program with a more comprehensive system by 2002.
Under that program, all of the state's teachers who graduate in 2002 will be paired with veteran teachers. Those new teachers will work with their mentors and undergo classroom evaluations before earning their teaching licenses.
Tom Mooney, Cincinnati Federation of Teachers president, said he thinks Ohio has made modest progress in the teacher quality issue.
“Even though Ohio has modestly raised standards, they have undermined them by funding voucher and charter programs that don't enforce certified teachers,” Mr. Mooney said.
The 163-page Quality Counts report was done by the staff of Education Week, a magazine that focuses on elementary and secondary schools, and was underwritten by the Pew Charitable Trusts. It used public records and interviews with hundreds of educators and policy makers.
Road work set, but will it help?
Ky. scores well on improving teachers
Gay rights groups cite 2 setbacks
King Day events focus on teaching the young
Two plan to share speakership
Butler's Holcomb raps 2nd official
Disabled kids ski away the day
Fatal crash closes I-75 for hours
Police can no longer sell old handguns
Covington mayoral race jumping
Campaign cash's stench
Do the brave thing: Let Justin go
Queen City's moments to shine reflected in book
Children's programming activist sees light at the end of the tube
Fox swearing off sleaze
GET TO IT
He's cool enough without the gang
2 construction workers injured
Barq co-founder dies
Butler township keeps president, adds member
Campbell may group cities' fees
Charter schools criticized
City garages drop hour from $1 rates
Embezzlement probe at state agency grows
Falmouth Police Chief dismissed
Former Xavier president dies
Ind. group taking on gambling
Jail time for guns brought to school
Lucas' town hall education meeting to reach the people
Main break floods Cleveland streets
Man tells police he didn't shoot
Monroe blaze traced to cigarette
New center to provide work force training
Police chiefs honor citizen, two officers
Receptionist sentenced for passing drugs
School voucher supporters file official notice of appeal
Silverton says goodbye to Grafton's
TRISTATE DIGEST
Van driver guilty in crash that killed 2
