Posts Tagged ‘highly qualified teachers’

Linked Learning Approach Attempts to Renew Curriculum

Friday, August 20th, 2010

The state of California is leading the charge to provide relevant learning and ensure that their CTE students are college and career ready. The Alliance for Excellent Education hosted an event, “Building the Capacity of Teachers to Prepare Students for College and Careers,” to highlight The Linked Learning Approach which has been adopted in the state of California as a way for teachers to increase student engagement.

One example highlighted during this presentation was the school of Digital Media and Design (DMD) at the Kearny High Education Complex. DMD adopted the Linked Learning Approach two years ago when the school was ranked in the bottom 20 percent of California schools. Since implementing this model, DMD has been ranked in the top 25 percent of schools.

The Linked Learning Approach incorporates project and inquiry-based curriculums where students are given semester long projects to complete with a team. At the end of each semester students present their final project to a panel of business and industry representatives. In order to ensure that projects provide relevant learning for all students, instructors work together to align course materials that allow students to make connections across all subjects.

Panelists all echoed the importance of quality professional development programs to ensure the best education for America’s youth.

By Warren in Meetings, Research
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Latest ESEA Hearings Focus on High Schools and Teachers

Wednesday, May 5th, 2010

Yesterday, both the Senate and House education committees held hearings related to the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee heard from witnesses during Improving America’s Secondary Schools about the importance of stemming the dropout rate, especially identifying at-risk students and using interventions before a student ever reaches high school. Some of the suggestions for helping students succeed in high school included improving adolescent literacy, teacher effectiveness, charter schools, early college high schools, and career academies.

Witnesses stated that while investment in the early grades is important, funding must continue to flow to the middle and high school grades because as the curriculum gets harder, students will need additional supports. Others suggested exposing students to college campuses as early as sixth grade to raise expectations and show students that being a college student is something they can aspire to.

The House Education and Labor Committee addressed issues around teachers and leaders in Supporting America’s Educators: The Importance of Quality Teachers and Leaders which recognized the 300,000 potential layoffs that school personnel face this coming year. Witnesses focused primarily on teacher evaluations, professional development and teacher training.

Regarding the issue of teacher effectiveness, witnesses suggested that teacher evaluations were inappropriate at measuring true progress and that because incentives, like pay scale and tenure, are based on advanced degrees and years of experience, the system does not evaluate what makes a teacher effective. Others stated that teacher training needs to be continuous and take cues from other professions like medicine where the basic skills are not learned on the job but are required before certification is granted.

By Nancy in Legislation
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CTE Instructors: Meeting the Challenge of Expanded Expectations

Tuesday, April 27th, 2010

What are the skills and knowledge that secondary CTE teachers require to respond to CTE’s broadened purpose of enhancing academic skills?  How do these teachers prepare students for an array of occupations within defined occupational clusters? In Professional Development for Secondary Career and Technical Education: Implications for Change, a publication by the National Center for Career and Technical Education, this document addresses the professional development needs of secondary-level CTE teachers, and the need to identify and deliver instruction that responds to students’ learning needs.

By Ramona in Publications
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Legislative Update: ESEA Hearings, Education Jobs Bill, METRICS Bill

Friday, April 16th, 2010

Elementary and Secondary Education Act Reauthorization Hearings

This week the House and Senate held a number of hearings on issues ranging from data to turning around low performing schools to effective teachers and leaders. During Tuesday’s Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing on effective strategies for turning around schools Senator Patty Murray asked about the use of career pathways as a way to improve student achievement (beginning at the 115 minute mark). Robert Balfanz, a researcher from Johns Hopkins University, stated that career academies are one effective strategy that uses career pathways. He also stated that there is evidence that the students who do best in high school are those who take a college preparatory curriculum and a CTE concentration, however only 5% of student nationwide have that combination.

On Thursday the HELP Committee held a roundtable to hear about the problems facing teachers and principals. A key issue addressed by both committee members and witnesses is the need to move from “highly qualified teacher” requirements to defining “highly effective teachers.”

The House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing on Wednesday, “How Data Can Be Used to Inform Educational Outcomes.” Committee members acknowledged the vital importance of using data to improve student performance and teacher instruction, but were concerned about need to protect student privacy.

Keep Our Educators Working Act

Senator Tom Harkin introduced the Keep Our Educators Working Act of 2010 which would provide $23 billion for an “Education Jobs Fund,” modeled after the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund that was established in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.  Money could be used for compensation and benefits and other expenses necessary to retain existing employees, and for the hiring of new employees, in order to provide early childhood, elementary, secondary, or postsecondary educational and related services; or on-the-job training activities for education-related careers. This bill is similar to the $23 billion included in the Jobs for Main Street Act which passed the House in December.

Senate Appropriations Hearing on Education Fiscal Crisis

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan testified in a hearing before the Senate Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee this week to discuss the FY11 education budget and the fiscal crisis facing education. Duncan endorsed Senator Harkin’s proposed $23 billion education jobs fund (see above), saying “It’s the right thing to do at the right time for the right reasons.” Senator Harkin’s opening statement is available here.

METRICS Act

This week Representative Rush Holt and Senator Sherrod Brown each introduced the Measuring and Evaluating Trends for Reliability, Integrity, and Continued Success (METRICS) Act in their respective chambers of Congress. The bill would authorize $65 million in competitive grants to states to improve the use of their statewide data systems and an additional $65 million for a competitive program to LEAs with low-performing schools to help build the capacity to use data to improve student outcomes.

By Nancy in Legislation
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Data Quality Campaign Releases Annual Survey on Elements of Longitudinal Data Systems

Friday, February 5th, 2010

In order to track student progress and answer critical policy questions, states have been developing longitudinal data systems. The Data Quality Campaign’s Compendium report provides a national overview on state progress toward implementing the ten elements below:

  • Statewide student identifier
  • Student-level enrollment data
  • Student-level test data
  • Information on untested students
  • statewide teacher identifier
  • Student-level course completion (transcript) data
  • Student-level SAT, ACT, and AP data
  • Student-level graduation and dropout data
  • Ability to match student-level P-12 and higher education data
  • State data audit system

According to the report, data on course-taking and grades (element 6), college readiness test scores (element 7), and other feedback from post-secondary institutions (element 9) can help determine whether high school courses and graduation standards are aligned with college and workplace expectations.

By Ramona in Publications, Research, Uncategorized
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Report: Big investment, little data on professional development

Thursday, October 29th, 2009

The nation spends about $9 billion annually on teacher professional development, however most programs do not provide nor do states ask for data demonstrating that such investments actually improve student learning, according to a recent National Governors Association Center for Best Practices issue brief.

At a time when educators and administrators are facing enormous pressures to boost student achievement, it is critical that training resources provided by state leaders are in fact effective in improving student achievement. Recent opportunities through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to fund professional development programs have lent some help to states, according to the issue brief. However, making the right investments that can provide the most impact on student achievement appears to be a challenge.

“Deficits exist with regard to the content and delivery of professional development, and continuing large investments in this system may not be justified unless improvements are made based on the limited research that is available,” according to State Policies to Improve Teacher Professional Development.

The brief notes that most professional development does not collect or offer data that could provide information on the impact programs have on student achievement. Thus, it outlines approaches states can take to improve the quality of teacher professional development by setting standards, implementing accountability strategies and identifying quality programs that encourage the implementation of effective professional development. Generally, the report outlines four core approaches to improving professional development systems:

o Gather and use student achievement data to assess the effectiveness of professional development;
o Use teacher evaluations and student learning data to create individualized professional development plans for teachers;
o Establish research-based state standards to create a vision for high-quality professional development; and
o Create an incentive-driven professional development initiative for teachers to acquire advanced skills.

Some states have made traction in regards to evaluating and monitoring professional development programs, according to the brief. For instance, Iowa requires the school districts to include in their professional development plans an evaluation piece that examines the impact programs have on student learning. In New Jersey, state standards mention the use of research-based professional development with a demonstrated ability to improve student learning.

In order for other states to follow such leads, the NGA Center notes that governors, state education leaders, higher education institutions, teachers associations and professional development providers must collaborate to make systemic changes. Perhaps, the nation’s current fiscal crisis may be the needed impetus to encourage a focus on wise investments in professional development, according to the brief.

By Erin in Publications, Research
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ED Stakeholders Forum: Great Teachers and Leaders

Friday, October 16th, 2009

Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Education held another of its monthly Education Stakeholders Forums, with this one focused on effective teachers and leaders.  Topics included how we ensure that all students have access to the best teachers, which measures are used to evaluate teacher effectiveness, and the importance of support and resources such as mentoring and professional development.

At the forum we also heard from a panel of outside speakers who each addressed which parts of NCLB worked and which parts were not helpful.  Arlene Ackerman, Superintendant of Philadelphia Public Schools, felt that teacher certification requirements and the highly qualified teachers (HQT) standards were the most effective components of NCLB.  On the other hand, she stated that not defining teacher competencies is a shortcoming of NCLB because being highly qualified does not mean that a teacher is effective.  Kay Brilliant of NEA agreed that the HQT standards were the most helpful part of NCLB, while for her, the least helpful part is NCLB’s emphasis on testing.  Dan Weisberg from the New Teacher Project said that NCLB did a good job of pointing out the inequities in the public school system by disaggregating data about disabled and ELL students, but that the law focused on the wrong levers to fix these problems.

The topic of the next forum will be “Promoting Innovation and Rethinking the Federal Role.”

By Nancy in Public Policy
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Highly Qualifed & CTE: Tough Economic Times Creating New Options

Saturday, June 20th, 2009

As I have traveled the country, one of the most common questions I get is about how NCLB highly qualified teacher (HQT) requirements impact CTE. NCLB statute and regulations do not require CTE teachers to meet the same requirements as academic teachers, in large part because so many CTE teachers come from industry and through alternative routes. States some latitude to define what highly qualifed means for CTE.  However, the HQT regulations related to academic teachers have had the unintendend consequence of limiting states’ ability to allow CTE courses to garner academic credit because if academic credit is awarded then the teacher teaching that class must meet academic HQT requirements.  Several states have developed innovative approaches to this challenge. Idaho invested in funding to CTE teachers certified in academic areas. New York negotiated a waiver to allow academic and CTE team teaching (strictly regulated) to meet the requirements. California is the latest state to offer up another option given challenges districts are facing due to tough economic times.

Below is a recently published article that summarizes the California option quite nicely.  This article was written by Allen Young of The Cabinet Report, a subscribers-only daily news source published by School Innovations & Advocacy . 

“LEAs have options on tech instructors meeting NCLB qualifications
By Allen Young

With districts looking for creative ways to address staffing needs, the California Department of Education issued advice this week reminding local educational agencies that a career technical education instructor can qualify as a ‘highly qualified teacher’ with authorization from the school board.

The issue has been raised repeatedly by districts that are struggling under the current budget crisis to match diminishing instructional resources with ever growing student needs and still meet federal goals under the No Child Left Behind Act.

 

“Amid massive layoffs throughout the state, people are trying to save their jobs and find out what they are credentialed for,” said Lynda Nichols, NCLB coordinator at CDE. “When a district decides to have one of these classes and the board approves it as a graduation requirement, it throws the non-NCLB course into NCLB [requirements].”  The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing said that if a school is granting graduation credit for a CTE class, then the instructor need only carry a CTE credential.

To qualify as a “highly qualified teacher,” the instructor must have a four-year college degree and hold a proper credential in their CTE subject area.

There are many examples of crossover classes that provide alternate forms of graduation credit. The CDE has clarified on their website the sections in law that describe the classes and credentials needed for career tech teachers to provide graduation credit and fulfill UC admission requirements.   

Here is a summary. 

  • To be NCLB compliant, a business education instructor that has a single subject or standard secondary credentialed in business education can satisfy the economics requirement and does not need a history-social science credential.

  • The same applies for an agriculture instructor majored in agriculture business or education and credentialed with a single subject or standard secondary in agriculture.

  • A home economics instructor who majored in nutrition, dietetics, or food science with a single subject or standard secondary credential in home economics education can satisfy biological science and does not need a biology science credential.

  • Biology science can also be taught by a health instructor that posses a single subject credentialed in health science education.

  • A home economics instructor with a major in apparel design and merchandising and appropriately credentialed in home economics can satisfy the visual and performing arts requirement.

  • Finally, industrial and technology education teachers majored in either manufacturing technology or industrial technology can satisfy the physical sciences with a single subject or standard secondary ITE credential and would not need one in chemistry or physics science.

The CDE guidance for CTE instructors satisfying NCLB is available here:

http://www.cde.ca.gov/nclb/sr/tq/documents/ctenclbhqtprvision.doc

The CTE Frequently Asked Questions are available here:

http://www.cde.ca.gov/nclb/sr/tq/faqctenclbhqt.asp.”

 

 

By Kimberly in Public Policy
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