Teachers Suggest the Need for Better Training

By Jeff Archer

Policymakers voicing concern over the quality of classroom instruction shouldn't hear much disagreement from the nation's teachers, if the results of a new federal survey are any indication.

Teachers themselves feel ill-prepared to meet many of the challenges they face and, the report shows, are hungry for better training and support. The findings, U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley said in a prepared statement as he released them last week, "confirm our dramatic need to get serious about better preparing for and supporting teachers."

The report, "Teacher Quality: A Report on the Preparation and Qualifications of Public School Teachers," is the first of what his department promises will become a biennial...