This article explores middle school teachers' mathematical knowledge for teaching and the relationship between such knowledge and teachers' subject matter preparation, certification type, teaching experience, and their students' poverty status. The author administered multiple-choice measures to a nationally representative sample of teachers and…

With the advent of No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, schools are being held accountable for measurable increases in student academic achievement as evidenced by performance on standardized tests. This movement has significant implications for the professional development of teachers who are ultimately responsible for ensuring that their…

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) mandates a "highly qualified" teacher in every classroom. To meet the standard, teachers must have a bachelor's degree, be state-certified, and prove they know the subjects they teach, either by satisfying minimum course-taking requirements or passing a test in the subject they teach. But will compliance…

This essay distinguishes between the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act's narrow definition of highly qualified teachers and the full range of skills and knowledge teachers must have to teach all children effectively. It asserts that the NCLB's lack of distinction between minimally and highly qualified teachers, along with rapid implementation…

Teaching is hard, no matter where someone teaches. But for teachers in schools beset by poverty who have to find ways to motivate, discipline, and (with any hope) educate students whose odds in life are stacked against them, teaching is extremely hard. It is not surprising, then, that any effort to place additional pressure on teachers, many of…

States and districts are going to get more breathing room to meet the federal mandate that teachers be "highly qualified," but extending the deadline, teacher-quality advocates say, could ultimately bring more pressure on school officials to make progress. That's because the one-year reprieve dangled in late October 2005 by federal…

This paper is the third in a series of reports that examine the impact of No Child Left Behind, the newly revised Elementary and Secondary Education Act, on state policy and policymaking. It focuses on teaching quality. The first section explains that a highly qualified teacher is one who has been fully licensed or certified by the state and not…

A mixed methodology approach was used to address the question: what are skills, knowledge and dispositions that co-teachers need to balance the seemingly competing mandates of NCLB and IDEIA in order to prepare teachers for the classrooms of today and tomorrow? Based on the results of two recent studies that focused on secondary co-teacher teams…

The NCLB teacher-quality provisions are driven by research that documents the importance of teacher quality on student achievement and in closing achievement gaps. Indeed based on findings such as those indicating that (1) minority and low income students are disproportionately taught by under qualified school teachers; and (2) disadvantaged…

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 reauthorized and significantly expanded the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The Act and its accompanying fund increases offer numerous opportunities to improve teaching and achievement of young adolescents, targeting federal money more than ever to high poverty schools and districts and including…

More students than ever are receiving their special education services in general education classrooms as a result of the Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) (President's Commission on Excellence in Special Education, 2002). Among the most common delivery systems for those services is…

This report presents findings about teacher quality from two longitudinal studies, the National Longitudinal Study of "No Child Left Behind" (NLS-"NCLB"), and the Study of State Implementation of Accountability and Teacher Quality Under "No Child Left Behind" (SSI-"NCLB"). The research teams for these two…

With No Child Left Behind's call for highly qualified teachers, the stakes for recruiting and retaining teachers have never been more important. Alabama, like other states, has struggled to develop policies and programs that effectively staff all classrooms with quality educators. The Center for Teaching Quality, with the support of SERVE, has…

As additional funding and new legislation increase our focus on literacy, we should consider the findings of a study by the National Staff Development Council and the National Education Association on what works. The study reviews programs that have demonstrated improvements in student learning, and issues key findings for every grade level.

One of the key features of this legislation is an emphasis on teacher quality. A growing body of research has documented the importance of teacher knowledge and skill in improving student achievement. The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 includes specific criteria for considering a teacher highly qualified, and other specific requirements…