Teacher quality mandate remains big challenge for states

This is a little noticed, yet VERY important element of NCLB:

The law also orders equity, a point gaining more attention of late. Poor and minority kids are not supposed to have an unfair share of unqualified, inexperienced teachers.

The Education Trust, which advocates for underprivileged children, says states largely ignored the provision in their new plans. The group issued its own analysis last week. It found that most states are doing little to fix inequities in the teaching force.

In other words, the problem is not only that there are too many unqualified teachers, but also that poor and minority students -- the ones who most need the best teachers -- instead get a massively disproportionate share of the very worst teachers (I sent out the data on this a few days ago -- it's truly horrifying).

 

----------------------

Teacher quality mandate remains big challenge for states

http://www.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/08/16/teacher.quality.ap/index.html

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Having missed one deadline already, states still face an enormous challenge in putting qualified teachers in all major classes, a federal review says.

Some states are in much better shape than others, the Education Department said Wednesday. Most meet only some criteria in required new plans. Four fail altogether.

Under the No Child Left Behind law, states were supposed to have highly qualified teachers in every core academic class by the end of the last school year. None made it....