Another HQT loophole?

From: Education Daily
For example, ED rulemaking allowed teachers on alternative certification routes to be considered highly qualified for up to three years, if they were enrolled and making progress in a program. Thus, unlike teachers in traditional programs, they did not have to be certified or have demonstrated content competency before entering the classroom. Groups such as the Center for Teaching Quality and the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education have said that opened a major quality loophole. Like regular teacher prep programs, alternative certification varies in quality, and CTQ executive director Eric Hirsch said alternative certification programs proved an easy way for states to deal with teachers on emergency certifications. “The light is not fully shown on the inequities that still exist, because now we don’t call them emergency waivers; we just enroll these teachers in an alternate route program,” he said. “Ultimately, there are ways within this system to not fully address the teaching gap provisions that the law was intended to address.” AACTE VP for government relations Jane West agreed. “You can just be working towards your certification, and I think for them [highly qualified] is a really disingenuous label,” she said.