WHAT'S NEW - NOVEMBER 2002

STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION

Welcome to the website for the Council on Alberta Teaching Standards (COATS). This area of the website changes monthly. The theme for this month will be of interest to teachers, administrators, and parents who are exploring the issue of student achievement and professional certification. The first section below identifies several web links related to the topic. Also listed below you will find references to on-line journals with peer-reviewed articles and to hard-copy sources of scholarly information about this topic. We hope that you find this website to be a valuable resource. For quick reference bookmark http://www.teachingquality.ab.ca today!

WEBSITES, ARTICLES AND A BOOK RELATED TO STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT & PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION

The Research and Rhetoric on Teacher Certification

http://www.teacherscollege.edu/nctaf/publications/abell_response.pdf

Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (2001) authored the paper posted at this website. She is a vocal advocate of the importance of teacher preparation and teacher certification for the sake of student achievement. Dr. Darling-Hammond rejects claims that teacher certification makes no difference in what children learn and warns against the formulation of misguided public policy that would deprive Maryland's children of competent and qualified teachers. This site deals with the strong controversies afoot in the United States regarding the link between teacher certification and teacher quality as well as their importance for student performance. These controversies take on significance within the context of an apparent widespread shortage of teachers throughout the United States and policymakers searching for options.

Teacher Quality and Student Achievement: A Review of State Policy Evidence
Education Policy Analysis Archives. (2000). Vol. 8, No. 1.

http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v8n1/

Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond of Stanford University provides a backdrop for the current debate on teacher quality and student achievement, within which she presents research findings from 48 states. The research is both quantitative and qualitative. The findings of her study tend to support the existence of a connection between teacher quality and student achievement. Her conclusion leads to choices in public policy that maintain adequate emphasis on teacher preparation, certification and professional development in order to ensure teacher quality and, thereby, student performance.

Teacher Education/Educator Training: Current Trends and Future Directions

http://www.cmec.ca/stats/pcera/symposium2001/YACKULIC-NOONAN.O.EN.pdf

The Canadian context commonly assumes that teacher preparation programs leading to certification impart teacher candidates with required knowledge and skills. R. A. Yackulic and B. W. Noonan (2001) of the University of Saskatchewan delivered this paper in Quebec City. While studying the indicators of successful teacher preparation programs, the authors comment at length on the relationship between teacher preparation programs and student achievement. In addition to the knowledge and skills of the teacher, however, the authors admit that many variables do influence student achievement. More study is needed to clarify how various teacher characteristics affect student learning.

Teacher Licensing and Student Achievement

http://www.edexcellence.net/better/tchrs/09.htm

Dan D. Goldhaber and Dominic J. Brewer (1998) focus on the ties between teacher certification and student performance. The research evidence for this connection is not always clear-cut. The researchers investigate empirically how students of teachers with standard certification perform in comparison to teachers who have various sorts of non-standard certification. Non-standard certifications, which vary state by state, can be granted to individuals with a wide variety of qualifications. The authors' methodology assumes that a variety of factors influence students' performance. Such variables include individual and family characteristics, school, teacher, and classroom characteristics as well as a state's teacher certification policies.

Teacher Quality and Alternative Certification Programs

http://www.ncei.com/Testimony051399.htm

A shortage of qualified teachers typifies the current American educational setting. In this statement, Dr. C. Emily Feistritzer (1999), President of the National Center For Education Information in Washington, DC, outlines the lively concerns of educational policymakers regarding the preparation, licensing, recruiting and hiring of teachers. Alternative routes to teacher certification gather interest in these circumstances. Not all such routes, however, are academically trustworthy. Feistritzer describes the characteristics of some successful programs in New Jersey, Texas and California, with special attention given to the recruitment of minority teachers.

JOURNAL ARTICLES

Title:		Initial Teacher Certification in Massachusetts.
Source:		Phi Delta Kappa. (2001). Vol. 82, No. 1, Pages 34-37.
Author(s):		Flippo, R. F. & Riccards, M. P.
Abstract:		This journal article relates the case of the implementation of a new certification regime in Massachusetts, and alerts readers to the complexity of deciding who will teach. The intended reform, aimed at improving teacher quality, was put in place in April 1998, but it produced unintended consequences. State colleges involved in teacher preparation have excluded some marginal candidates and altered preparation programs in order to teach to the competency test. There are also allegations that the test exhibits built-in racial bias against minority candidates. Lastly, there are perceptions that the supposed reform has brought about a reduction in the quantity of certified teachers.
ISSN:		0031-7217
Title:		The Link Between Teacher Classroom Practices and Student Academic Performance
Source:		Education Policy Analysis Archives. (2002). Vol. 10, No. 12.
On-line		http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v10n12/
Author(s):		Wenglinsky, H.
Abstract:		The study reported in this recent article provides empirical support to the assertion that teachers make a contribution to student performance. In an environment where factors outside the school are considered the major determinants of student performance, this is a contested assertion. In this study, focusing on mathematical achievement, teacher characteristics such as college-level study in mathematics were identified as significant in influencing student outcomes. Teachers can make a difference despite the strong influence of students' backgrounds on their achievement.
ISSN:		1068-2341
Title:		Teacher Quality and Student Achievement: Recommendations for Principals.
Source:		NASSP Bulletin. (2001). Vol. 85, No. 628, Pages 64-73.
Author(s):		Kaplan, L.S. & Owings, W. A.
Abstract:		This journal article presents a set of recommendations to help school principals enhance student achievement. The article is based a body of recent research that tends to support the notion that the expertise of teachers is a key variable influencing student achievement. Among such teacher characteristics are teachers' content knowledge and their full certification status as well as their instructional practices. Key recommendations include, for example, hiring teachers with majors in the fields in which they will teach, and mentoring the professional development of beginning teachers who have only provisional certification.
ISSN:		0192-6365
BOOKS
Title:		Better Teachers, Better Schools.
Source:		Washington, DC: The Thomas B. Fordham Foundation. (1999). Pages: xv+252.
Author(s):		Kanstoroom, M. & Finn, C. E., Eds.
Abstract:		The title of this book captures its central theme: both the perception and the expectation that teachers will strongly affect what students learn. As a collection of 11 articles by expert contributors, this book embodies the intensity of the controversy surrounding teacher certification and student achievement. The volume directs readers' attention into three major sections, each containing several articles including references: teacher quality, teacher certification, and related education reforms made more urgent by a teacher shortage. This comprehensive collection also includes notes describing the affiliations of the various contributors.
ISBN:		N/A