Writing in the Wall Street Journal, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten argues that
requiring prospective teachers to take a rigorous “bar exam” would help
raise teacher quality and improve educational outcomes. This approach,
while seemingly reasonable, may actually be exactly the wrong way to
recruit and assess teachers.
Here’s the key point: it does seem possible to isolate the best teachers given enough performance data, and the best teachers can have a huge impact on their students’ lives. But it’s really hard to predict which teachers will excel before they enter the classroom or even after a year or two of teaching. The best way to find a good teacher may be to watch people teach. In which case you want to cast a wide net: let a lot of potential teachers in the door, then weed out those who can’t teach and promote those who can.
Read more: http://www.american.com/archive/2012/december/teachers-and-the-license-raj
Here’s the key point: it does seem possible to isolate the best teachers given enough performance data, and the best teachers can have a huge impact on their students’ lives. But it’s really hard to predict which teachers will excel before they enter the classroom or even after a year or two of teaching. The best way to find a good teacher may be to watch people teach. In which case you want to cast a wide net: let a lot of potential teachers in the door, then weed out those who can’t teach and promote those who can.
Read more: http://www.american.com/archive/2012/december/teachers-and-the-license-raj
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