Teacher shortages have reentered the national consciousness in a major way, as quarantines and the intense stresses created by the COVID-19 pandemic drained teaching staffs, causing some schools to close temporarily for lack of staff. According to the U.S. Department of Education, all 50 states reported shortages in more than one area for the…

Systemic challenges for the Texas teacher workforce result from a large yearly demand for new teachers, exacerbated by high and climbing teacher attrition rates. As a result of these challenges, a large majority of new teachers are now hired before they complete preparation. Assigned disproportionately to students from low-income families and…

In the face of yet another crisis in teaching, it's time for a bold and comprehensive plan to revitalize and better support the profession. Education expert Linda Darling-Hammond explains how the current shortage of teachers is not entirely new, but the result of decades of cutting programs, lack of respect for the profession and poor working…

This report summarizes teacher workforce challenges and recent initiatives in Texas that are shaping the state of the educator workforce in important ways. Ongoing teacher shortages have led to the creation of a wide range of pathways into the profession, featuring varying types and amounts of training. A growing body of research demonstrates that…

Using five AERA presidential addresses over the past half century as landmarks, this essay traces the evolution of research on teaching and teacher education as well as some critical impacts the research has had on policy and practice related to teacher education and teacher evaluation in the United States. The discussion shows how these addresses…

Across the country, districts and schools are struggling to meet the growing demand for qualified teachers. Indeed, there are some subjects--such as mathematics, science, and special education--in which nearly every state is experiencing a teacher shortage. As a result, states often turn to underqualified teachers to fill the vacuum, a problematic…

As teachers who care deeply about the quality of their own teaching and the development of teaching as a profession, the authors write this article from their conviction that performance assessments in teaching are a critical strategy for developing teachers' expertise and for improving the quality of teacher preparation. They note that the…

Reviews research that supports the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future's analysis and recommendations on elementary and secondary school reform. It describes the research and programmatic work needed to test the policy hypothesis offered by the commission's report to move the field of educational reform forward in the areas of…

This videotape presents the keynote speeches of the 1997 Hawai'i Literacy Hui conference on the theme of "Changing Lives, Building Communities." Featured in the videotape are two speeches: Linda Darling-Hammond's "The Right To Learn and Teach: Towards Democratic Education," in which she discusses how authentic assessment in the context of the new…

This article explores the contributions of professionalism to school accountability in the context of a new phenomenon in American education: the professional development school. (IAH)

This article presents a conceptual framework for examining the design and implementation of teacher evaluation processes in school organizations. Research on teaching, organizational behavior, and policy implementation suggests that different educational and organizational theories underlie various teacher evaluation models. (Author/BW)

Teacher educators and teachers must be leaders in developing learner-centered standards for preparing teachers. Standards can help teachers build their own knowledge and understanding of what helps students learn. As schools undergo restructuring, teachers will be responsible for students, not just subject-matter information; for understanding how…

Projects a "typical" future teacher's career path, based on current teacher-education developments. She will be a highly motivated student, major in an academic subject, enter a highly selective teacher-education program, pursue challenging coursework, get adequate field experience, enter a professional-development-school internship, and develop…

This report is an attempt to classify and interpret the new pieces of state legislation influencing the teaching occupation: how teachers are trained, licensed, inducted, and compensated. The historical basis of recent teacher reforms and the concepts of teaching that these new policies embody are analyzed. Examined are trends in state teacher…

Efforts to professionalize teaching in recent years have contrasted sharply with regulatory initiatives that deprofessionalize the occupation and the act of teaching. Choices made now between better regulations and better teachers will determine the shape of education in years to come. (TE)