Teacher Testing
Teacher Preparation
Illinois Bill Stiffens Testing Rules For Aspiring Teachers
The Illinois legislature has approved a proposal that would require most aspiring teachers to pass a basic-skills test before entering colleges' teacher education programs, a standard that could set one of the earliest such deadlines in the country.
Teaching Profession
Pennsylvania Teachers Put to Test
State tests are familiar medicine to students. Most of the country's prospective teachers get a dose of them as well. But when some 33,400 Pennsylvania classroom teachers recently took state-mandated tests of their reading and mathematics skills, it was something of a first.
Teaching Profession
Court Upholds Mass. Plan To Test Mathematics Teachers
Teachers' unions in Massachusetts will soon decide whether to appeal a judge's ruling that gives the green light to a new state program requiring math teachers in low-performing schools to take tests detailing their knowledge of the subject.
Teacher Preparation
Teacher Tests Criticized As Single Gauge
Teacher-licensure exams provide important clues about the knowledge and skills of prospective precollegiate educators, but such tests should never be used as the sole measure of an aspiring teacher's abilities, argues a report released last week by the National Research Council.
Education
Teacher Testing
This chart shows the number of states using initial teacher-licensure tests to support varied decisions about candidates in 1998-99.
Teacher Preparation
Federal Court Upholds Calif. Licensing Exam
California's mandatory teacher-licensing exam is a valid measure by which to assess educators' skills, despite charges that it is biased against minority test-takers, a federal appeals court ruled last week.
Assessment
Teacher-Test Proctor, 9 Others Indicted in Cheating Probe
A former test proctor has been indicted on federal fraud and conspiracy charges for allegedly helping aspiring teachers cheat on their licensing exams.
Assessment
Massachusetts To Put Math Teachers to the Test
The Massachusetts state school board last week declared that math teachers in schools where students repeatedly fail state tests will be required to take tests themselves.
Teacher Preparation
AFT Urges New Tests, Expanded Training For Teachers
The nation's teaching force can be strengthened by improving screening methods for prospective educators and making teacher-preparation programs more meaningful, a report from the American Federation of Teachers says.
Assessment
Appeals Court To Review Calif. Teacher Test for Bias
A federal appeals court has agreed to take another look at a long-running lawsuit claiming California's teacher-testing program is biased against minority candidates.
States
Washington State To Start Testing Its Teachers
Washington state is poised to begin testing prospective teachers under a bill expected to be signed by Gov. Gary Locke.
Teacher Preparation
National Research Panel Tepid Over Tests For Licensing Teachers
A recent report on teacher testing throws cold water on a new federal law requiring colleges and universities to report their students' passing scores on licensing tests.
Teacher Preparation
Tests To Reflect New Teachers’ Subject Savvy
In established professions, licensing tests are based on the body of knowledge that practitioners have decided newcomers must know. But in teaching, that has not been the case.
Assessment
Ala. Embattled Over Resuming Teacher Testing
Efforts to bring teacher testing back to Alabama have kicked up a storm of criticism in the Heart of Dixie this summer, even prompting a gag order against officials involved in the negotiations.