States Raising Bar for Teachers Despite Pending Shortage

By Jeff Archer

Thousands of would-be teachers will sit down this Saturday to take tests that will help screen those who can enter an education school or become a licensed educator. And in a growing number of states, the bar has never been higher.

The raising of standards for the next generation of teachers comes as forecasts warn of pending teacher shortages. Still, states appear to be resisting the urge to fall back on the law of supply and demand, at least when it comes to setting passing scores for the Praxis tests--the Educational Testing Service's teacher preparation and licensure exams to be given March 28 at hundreds of sites throughout the country.

"We ought to be doing this [setting stricter requirements]," said Gary R. Galluzzo, the dean of the graduate school of education at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. "Historically, every time we find ourselves pressed up against shortages, we haven't gone out and found more good teachers. We've lowered the bar, and we pay for that for...