Improving America's Schools The Role of Incentives (1996) / Chapter Skim
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12 Staffing the Nation's Schools with Skilled Teachers
12 Staffing the Nation's Schools with Skilled Teachers
Pages 241-258
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From page 241... ...
This judgment by most parents is also the conclusion of many research studies.2 Devising strategies to provide all children with skilled teachers, both by improving the effectiveness of teachers already working in schools and by attracting a greater number of talented new teachers to the nation's classrooms, should be at the center of school reform efforts. These goals are related; providing opportunities for growth and learning on the job is important in attracting and retaining talented college graduates who seek not only good compensation but also rewarding work.
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From page 242... ...
In fact, it might have been of higher quality since the academically talented teachers tended to attend colleges with more financial resources than the colleges attended by less academically able teachers. In recent years public and private policies have been introduced to attract academically talented college graduates to teaching, in part by reducing the amount of preservice training that participants must undergo before beginning classroom teaching.
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From page 243... ...
Nevertheless, these studies tell nothing about the efficacy of policies designed to attract talented college graduates to teaching by reducing training requirements. FACTORS AFFECTING CAREER DECISIONS The evidence on factors that affect college students' teaching career decisions can be organized according to the sequence of those decisions: whether to begin work as a teacher, whether to switch districts, how long to stay in teaching, and whether to return to teaching after a career interruption.
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From page 244... ...
Studies show that the academic skills of students who complete education majors are higher than those of students who announce as freshmen that they intend to major in education (Nelson, 1985; Hanushek and Pace, 1994) , although probably not as high as those of college graduates not preparing to teach.5 A recent study shows that college students are less likely to complete education majors in states that require candidates for teaching licenses to complete a relatively large number of education-related courses (Hanushek and Pace, 1994)
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From page 245... ...
As part of attempts to raise entry standards over the past 20 years, several states have required that candidates for teaching licenses achieve scores above threshold values on certain standardized tests, primarily the NTE, formerly known as the National Teacher's Examination, developed by the Educational Testing Service. Until recently the NTE included a "Core Battery," which tested communication skills, general knowledge; and professional knowledge; 49 specialty-area tests that measured knowledge of specific academic subjects or fields; and the Pre-Professional Skills Tests, which measured basic reading, writing, and mathematics skills.6 As of 1994, 34 states used at least part of the NTE in their teacher licensing requirements.
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From page 246... ...
This is an exceedingly weak defense in view of the questionable validity of multiple-choice questions about professional knowledge and the demonstrable negative impact that the testing requirements have on the racial composition of the teaching force. A challenge in revising licensing requirements is to ensure that potential teachers do possess the skills necessary to communicate effectively with students and their parents and to provide incentives and opportunities for candidates deficient in basic skills to improve their skills.
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From page 247... ...
Between 1971 and 1984 the number of students attending elementary and secondary schools fell from 46 million to 39 million. The decline in the number of college students preparing to teach and entering teaching is simply a response to declining demand, but changes in the composition of the pool of college graduates choosing to teach are disturbing.
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From page 248... ...
The pattern complicates strategies to staff all of the nation's schools with skilled teachers, suggesting that incentives to attract skilled teachers may not be sufficient. It may also be necessary to ensure that the most effective applicants are hired or that ineffective teachers are removed from applicant pools.
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From page 249... ...
Among secondary school teachers, those in such fields as chemistry and physics, which command relatively high salaries in business and industry, are likely to have the shortest teaching spells, especially since virtually all U.S. public school districts have a uniform salary scale that takes no account of variations in opportunity cost by field.
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From page 250... ...
POLICIES FOR STAFFING THE SCHOOLS WITH SKILLED TEACHERS Evidence on the career decisions of potential teachers, teachers, and former teachers show that they do respond to incentives. Salaries and opportunity costs influence who goes into teaching, who stays in teaching, and who returns to teaching after a career interruption.
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From page 251... ...
Some recent evidence indicates that "fifth-year" programs are successful in attracting academically talented college graduates to teacher preparation. These programs enable college graduates who did not prepare to teach to obtain teacher training and a master's degree in teaching.
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From page 252... ...
. A COMBINATION OF POLICIES WITH PROMISE The challenge is to attract academically able college students to the teaching profession, give aspiring and veteran teachers an incentive to undertake highquality training, and adopt licensing requirements that discourage those who lack the skills necessary to teach effectively.
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From page 253... ...
Second, scores on the multiple-choice tests keep many minorities from obtaining a teaching license and provide no assurance that graduates who do obtain teaching licenses possess the skills needed to teach effectively. Several changes would improve the effectiveness of licensing procedures in keeping incompetent teachers out of schools without discouraging talented college students from trying teaching.
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From page 254... ...
The lower probability of receiving a teaching offer induces candidates with the best alternatives outside teaching, often the more academically able graduates, to choose a different occupation.13 A number of changes in the structure of teachers' salary schedules would make it easier to recruit talented college graduates in every subject field and would encourage them to obtain the training needed to learn to teach effectively. • Flexible salaries for teachers in fields with shortages of teachers.
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From page 255... ...
provided board certification to 81 middle school teachers who had demonstrated a remarkably high degree of teaching skill over a year of difficult, performance-based assessments. In the years ahead the NBPTS plans to expand its scope markedly and develop assessment programs that will provide experienced teachers of every subject and grade level the opportunity to apply for board certification.
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From page 256... ...
Offering a sizable salary increase to teacher interns who pass a performance-based licensing exam should compensate for this risk, but as yet there is no evidence of the size of the salary increase that would be needed to make teaching attractive to talented college graduates under a performance-based licensing system. The decentralized nature of the nation's education system provides many opportunities to test the effectiveness of alternative policies.
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From page 257... ...
1995. "Statement about the Praxis series: professional assessments for beginning teach ers." Princeton, N.J.: Educational Testing Service.
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From page 258... ...
258 Improving America's Schools: The Role of Incentives South Carolina.
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