AACTE in the News

Efficacy of Teacher Master’s Programs: The Need for Research

From Learning First Allianceby Charlotte Williams Over the past several years, many in the education industry have debated the significance of master’s degrees for teachers, and often also whether this higher degree warrants more pay. Many blogs have commented on this issue, including Education Week blogs, university blogs, and newspaper blogs. The American Association of […]

Pell Grant Increase Survives in CR; Teacher Standards Ruffle Some Groups

From Congressional QuarterlyBy Lauren Smith The White House persuaded lawmakers to include a large increase for Pell grants in a measure to keep the government running through March — but another provision on teacher qualifications has angered some education advocates. The continuing resolution unveiled in the Senate on Dec. 19 would maintain a $5.7 billion […]

Questioning a Degree’s Value

From InsideHigher EDBy Allie Grasgreen The value of a master’s degree in education – in monetary, philosophical and educational terms – is under fire as conflicting camps are responding to increasingly high-profile criticism of merit pay systems. The debate over how teachers are paid – and how to attract the best teachers – has been […]

Sharon P. Robinson Letter to the Editor: Finding, training and keeping good teachers

From The Washington Post The Nov. 21 editorial “Teaching the teachers” urged reforms in the way we recruit quality candidates into teaching and how we then evaluate and support them. It also pondered whether education schools, accrediting agents and school districts can make it all happen. In fact, many of these reforms are underway.

Tenn. Part of National Pilot on Teacher Education

By The Associated Press, Nashville, Tenn. Eight Tennessee universities are taking part in a pilot program aimed at producing better school teachers. About 500 students in education programs statewide will have to demonstrate classroom skills before they’ll be licensed to teach, The Tennessean reports. “Starting out, new teachers have grand ideas, but then reality hits […]

Tennessee tests more stringent teacher licensing standards

At TN colleges, educators-to-be must prove skills From: THE TENNESSEANby Julie Hubbard About 500 Tennessee college students will have to prove they can teach before they earn their teacher licenses this spring. For decades, earning that certification meant simply passing a multiple-choice exam. Under a pilot program at eight Tennessee universities — and universities in […]

Future teachers must show, not just tell, skills

By Chris WilliamsThe Associated Press ST. PAUL, Minn. – Standing at the edge of a pond surrounded by her class of fourth-graders, Jasmine Zeppa filled a bucket with brown water and lectured her pupils on the science of observing and recording data. Many of the children seemed more interested in nearby geese, a passing jogger […]

Pilot Project Tests Teacher Performance Assessments

From Education Week’s Teacher MagazineBy Liana Heitin Teacher candidates nationwide would have to pass a common performance assessment based on student-teaching experiences before becoming licensed, if advocates for a new certification process get their way. At a panel discussion in downtown Washington Oct. 19, Stanford University education professor Linda Darling-Hammond and several other education experts […]

Reevaluating Teacher Evaluation