Teacher Quality

To help students improve their achievement levels, teachers must increase their own knowledge and skills and learn new teaching methods. Teachers need ongoing content instruction, mechanisms to network and share information with their peers, and opportunities to form partnerships with colleges, teacher organizations, parents, and other experts in their field. New teachers—especially those working in urban areas—have additional needs that must be addressed to ensure that they are prepared to enter the classroom and do not quickly become discouraged and leave the profession.

Recognizing that good teachers are essential to ensuring student academic success, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) sets stringent new teacher-quality requirements. In addition, Title II of the Higher Education Act focuses on teacher quality and authorizes funds for programs that promote teacher and principal training, recruitment, and retention. Title II also requires that professional development activities include training on how to involve parents in their children’s education.

For years, research has identified strong links between quality teaching and student achievement. One study, “Paying for Public Education: New Evidence on How and Why Money Matters” (R. Ferguson, Harvard Journal on Legislation, 1991), found that in 900 schools in Texas, the level of teacher expertise—measured by whether a teacher had a master’s degree, scores on licensing examinations, and length of experience—accounted for 43 percent of the difference in student achievement in math and reading in grades 1 through 11. Further, the study found that the achievement gap between white and black students was almost entirely due to the differences in the quality of the students’ teachers.

In part because teacher quality is so essential to improving student learning, NCLB requires that by the 2005–2006 academic year all teachers in core subject areas be “highly qualified” according to the definition written into the law. To be deemed highly qualified, teachers must 1) have a bachelor’s degree, 2) have full state certification or licensure, and 3) prove that they know each subject they teach. Elementary school teachers need to pass a state test demonstrating subject knowledge and teaching skills in reading, writing, mathematics, and other areas of any basic elementary school curriculum. Middle and high school teachers must prove that they know the subject(s) they teach; proof may take the form of 1) a major in the subject they teach, 2) credits equivalent to a major in the subject, 3) passing a state-developed test, 4) advanced certification from the state, 5) a graduate degree, or 6) (for current teachers) passing the High, Objective, Uniform State Standard of Evaluation (HOUSSE). The HOUSSE method allows current teachers to demonstrate subject-matter competency through a combination of teaching experience, professional development, and knowledge in the subject garnered over time in the profession. Each state develops its own HOUSSE. Currently, states and schools are making sure teachers meet the NCLB standards, but simply complying with the requirements of the law will not ensure that highly qualified teachers actually stay in the classroom, or that they will have the resources they need to improve student learning.

It is estimated that 2 million new teachers will need to be hired during the next 10 years to accommodate record-high student enrollments, a high rate of projected teacher retirements, and local efforts to reduce class size. Colleges of education are filled with students, so there does not appear to be a lack of new teachers. The greater problem is retaining quality teachers. According to Vartan Gregorian, president of Carnegie Corporation of New York and former president of Brown University, 30 percent of teachers—50 percent in urban schools—leave their jobs within five years. In addition, Gregorian says that out of every 600 students entering four-year teaching programs, only 180 complete them, only 72 become teachers, and only about 40 are still teaching several years later.

Current teachers need expanded and ongoing high-quality professional development opportunities, even if they have already met the letter of the law. To help students succeed academically, teachers must continually improve their own knowledge and skills and learn new teaching methods. They also must align their curricula with the academic standards students are expected to meet, and integrate technology into their instruction. To achieve these goals, teachers need ongoing content instruction, mechanisms that allow them to network and share information with their peers, and opportunities to form partnerships with colleges, teacher organizations, parents, and other experts in their field. New teachers—especially those working in urban areas—have additional needs that must be addressed to ensure that they are prepared to enter the classroom and do not quickly become discouraged and leave the profession. Programs to assist new teachers include internships, apprenticeships, and mentoring.

Title II of the Higher Education Act focuses on these issues of teacher quality and authorizes funds for programs that promote teacher and principal training, recruitment, and retention. Funds may also be used to attract teachers to high-need areas or underserved schools and to hire teachers for the specific purpose of reducing class size. Title II addresses another key component of high-quality professional development programs—parent involvement—by requiring that professional development activities include training on how to involve and work with parents in their children’s education.

Research has shown that all students benefit from having high-quality teachers. Yet, the more challenging student populations are disproportionately taught by less experienced educators. To meet the needs of today’s students, teachers need to be qualified, diverse, and well prepared.

Standards regarding teacher education, licensing, hiring, and professional development make an important difference in the qualifications and capacities that teachers bring to their work—and thus help enhance quality and equity in public education. If our nation is to close the achievement gap, low-income and diverse students must no longer be denied their fair share of the things that ensure success in school: resources and high-quality teachers.

A strong, balanced accountability system leads to more effective teaching and higher student achievement. Therefore, National PTA supports strong requirements for teacher quality, as well as adequately funded teacher preparation and staff development programs. These programs should be designed to initiate and strengthen professional excellence in teaching techniques, academic knowledge, human understanding, critical thinking, technology use, and parent and community involvement. National PTA believes that colleges of education must strengthen their instruction on parent involvement, and that pre- and in-service teacher development programs must provide instruction on working effectively with parents and other family members to increase student learning.

National PTA supports programs and policies focused on the recruitment and retention of talented and committed educators, particularly those programs and policies that place special emphasis on ensuring teacher diversity and addressing the special needs of rural and urban areas.

Talking Points

• An estimated 2 million new teachers will need to be hired during the next 10 years to accommodate record-high student enrollments, a high rate of projected teacher retirements, and local efforts to reduce class size. Meanwhile, schools are implementing comprehensive reform initiatives requiring teachers to focus on increasing student achievement.
• Research has shown that all students benefit from having high-quality teachers. Yet, the more challenging student populations are disproportionately taught by less experienced educators. To meet the needs of today’s students, teachers need to be qualified, diverse, and well prepared.
• Teacher development programs must be designed to strengthen professional excellence in teaching techniques, academic knowledge, human understanding, critical thinking, technology use, and parent and community involvement.