Teacher Preparation Commission
Teacher Preparation Commission
How can state policy improve the preparation of teachers?
The SREB Teacher Preparation Commission met during 2016, 2017 and 2018 to consider effective ways to better prepare teachers to help students reach high academic standards. Its charge was to develop practical and effective statewide recommendations to improve teacher preparation programs.
Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards chaired the Commission, whose members included state legislators, educators, university presidents and deans, and other policymakers and experts.
State Policies to Improve Teacher Preparation
Report of the SREB Teacher Preparation Commission
To improve the effectiveness of new teachers, the SREB Teacher Preparation Commission called on states to:
More than the Numbers
Teacher Preparation Data Systems: State Policy and Recommendations
This first report from the SREB Teacher Preparation Commission recommends that states build strong data systems as a critical first step in efforts to improve teacher preparation programs. It describes systems in Louisiana, North Carolina and Tennessee as models to learn from and lays out promising practices from these early systems. Three major recommendations cover where the data should come from, what it should cover, and how it should be used.
What are states’ requirements for student teaching experiences?
What Policies do SREB States Have Regarding the Preparation of Math Teachers?
Which State Policies Have Paraprofessional Certification Requirements or Pathways for Paraprofessionals to Become Certified Teachers?
Teacher Licensure Requirements
Minimum Requirements for Initial Teacher Licensure by State
December 2018
Requirements for teacher licensure vary by state and even within states. The SREB Teacher Preparation Commission recommends that states hold all new teachers to the same high standards and require practice-based assessments.
State | Required Basic Skills Assessment |
Required Subject & |
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State Teacher Licensure Information
Licence Types Available by State
December 2018
Requirements for teacher licensure vary by state and even within states. The SREB Teacher Preparation Commission recommends that states hold all new teachers to the same high standards and require practice-based assessments.
State | License Types | Approved Alternative Routes to Licensure |
---|---|---|
Alabama |
Emergency certificate |
Clinical Experiences in Teacher Preparation
Issue summary for the Teacher Preparation Commission
June 2017 — Many of the promising innovations in teacher education are centered around clinical practice-teaching experiences for teacher candidates. Year-long residencies in urban schools and tight partnerships between university teacher preparation programs and local school districts are experimenting with ways to best prepare novices for the schools and students in local areas.
Commission Calls for Data Systems to Improve Teacher Preparation
States can take the first step now to learn what works
Building strong data systems on teachers’ education and early careers may be the single best way to improve teacher preparation, says a report from the Southern Regional Education Board Teacher Preparation Commission.
Are teachers prepared to teach reading?
Research shows a gap between what we know about reading and how teachers are prepared to teach it
Reading is the foundation for learning.
The research is clear: Students who are not reading proficiently by the end of third grade are much more likely to face poor academic outcomes. For this reason alone, we know it is incredibly important that children learn to read well early in elementary school and continue to build on those reading skills throughout the rest of school.
The Importance of Data for Improving Teacher Preparation
Issue summary for the Teacher Preparation Commission
October 2016 — Teacher education programs, state certification offces and school districts have little to no comparative information regarding preparation candidates and graduates. Building strong data systems on the preparation and careers of teachers may be the single best way to improve teacher preparation.
Teacher Education: Expanding the Intersection of Evidence and Policy
Background paper for the Teacher Preparation Commission
June 2016 — Policymakers and researchers need more evidence on what works to improve teacher preparation programs. This paper highlights three promising practices:
- data systems to inform improvement
- revised state licensure requirements
- high-quality clinical experiences
UNC Educator Quality Dashboard
Driving Program Improvement in K16 Education
Alisa Chapman
University of North Carolina
Data, Data Everywhere
… But not a Byte to Use
What works in teacher preparation? How well do a college of education’s graduates perform in the classroom? And do we really have a shortage of teachers?
For the most part, we don’t know.
Strong data systems are the most promising component to improve how colleges prepare teachers for their jobs, but bringing them into being hasn’t been simple, said Jim Wyckoff of the University of Virginia
No Easy Answers
Teacher Prep Commission Studies Difficult Issues
State legislators — many of them former teachers, principals or education professors — came together in June 2016 to begin work on one of education’s most challenging issues: recommending policies to improve the programs that prepare classroom teachers.
The commission’s charge is a difficult one, said SREB President Dave Spence, but it has never been more important. The job of teaching is harder than ever, he said. “We expect 80 percent of students to go on to college now, and yet the population is much more diverse and increasingly low-income.”
Governor Edwards of Louisiana Elected Chair of the Southern Regional Education Board
Edwards also leads new commission on teacher preparation
Little Rock, Arkansas — June 26, 2016 — Governor Jon Bel Edwards of Louisiana was elected chair of the Southern Regional Education Board at the organization’s annual meeting in Little Rock, Arkansas, on Sunday.