Whitney Tilson's School Reform Blog: R.I. education chief seeks higher standards for prospective teachers

Angus Davis writes about another area the Gist is MASSIVELY shaking up:

One of the major differences between operating at the state vs. district level is that we're in a position to set policy while districts often must implement it. Folks don't appreciate all the areas where the state dept of ed can play a role. For example, we get to certify ed schools. Last week in a lesser noticed action, Commissioner Gist raised the "cut score" required to enter the teacher training program at all RI colleges. We previously had the lowest cut score in the country, tied with Guam. To set the new cut score, she asked her staff to research who had the highest in the country, and learned it was Virginia. So she set our cut score one point higher than theirs.

This is how she operates. While raising the cut score for entry into the teacher training programs at our local colleges and universities is not a silver bullet, it reflects her commitment to take every step that will help Rhode Island win the race to the top to become our nation's best state for public schools. Every decision she makes is framed by asking, "What's best for kids?" And then she does it. It's that simple.

Below is an article about this step:

It’s going to get harder to become a teacher in Rhode Island.

Education Commissioner Deborah A. Gist, who has made teacher quality the cornerstone of her three-month-old administration, is raising the score that aspiring teachers must achieve on a basic skills test required for admission to all of the state’s teacher training programs.

Currently, Rhode Island’s “cut score” ranks among the lowest in the nation, alongside Mississippi and Guam. Gist wants to raise it to the highest.

“Teacher quality is the single most important factor for student success in school,” Gist said. “This is a first step in raising our expectations across the board for our educators and our system.”

Gist says she intends to transform “the entire career span of a teacher,” including who is allowed to train to become a teacher, the rigor of the programs, mentoring of new teachers, support and training for veteran teachers, and the reward of higher pay for high performance.

“We need to look at how we improve at every point along the span,” Gist said. “Looking at teacher cut scores before they ever get accepted to a preparation program is a way to safeguard the early gate.”

Gist and her staff reviewed other states’ cut scores and found Virginia’s to be the highest in reading, math and writing. Gist set Rhode Island’s score one point higher than Virginia’s in each subject, saying she wants to make Rhode Island’s education system the envy of the nation.

“I have the utmost confidence that Rhode Island’s future teachers are capable of this kind of performance,” she said.