The Every Students Succeeds Act (ESSA) provided states with newfound flexibility on accountability measures and school improvement strategies. Many policy experts have analyzed states' ESSA plans, which explain how states use their federal funds under various provisions of the new law, as well as the approaches states take to identify and rate…

The knowledge, skills, and practices of early childhood care providers and teachers are critical factors in their delivery of high-quality developmental and educational experiences to young children. However, studies have found that the majority of professionals that make up the current early childhood workforce are not adequately prepared. Recent…

This Pennsylvania edition of the National Council on Teacher Quality's (NCTQ's) 2009 "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" is the third annual look at state policies impacting the teaching profession. It is hoped that this report will help focus attention on areas where state policymakers can make changes that will have a positive impact on…

In the 1985-86 academic year, progress was made in increasing the availability of adult basic education (ABE) programs throughout Pennsylvania and in reducing both the overall rate of premature program separation and the rate of enrollees who dropped out of the program before meeting their personal objective. Demographic characteristics of the…

The "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" examines what is arguably the single most powerful authority over the teaching profession: state government. This Pennsylvania edition of the National Council on Teacher Quality's (NCTQ's) "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" is the first of what will be an annual look at the status of state…

This report provides a comprehensive view of teacher preparation, program approval, and teacher selection practices in Pennsylvania and other states. The major premise is that, due to changing student and teacher demographics, Pennsylvania has an opportunity to improve the quality of the teaching force as teachers retire and as Pennsylvania raises…

A project was conducted in Pennsylvania to design a statewide system for establishing regional pools of qualified teachers for potential staffing of local vocational training programs in secondary schools. The objectives of the project were to facilitate recruitment and retention of qualified vocational education instructional staffs by providing…

THIS IS A REPORT OF A CONFERENCE SPONSORED BY THE OFFICE OF EDUCATION AND ATTENDED BY SPEECH AND HEARING SUPERVISORS IN STATE DEPARTMENTS OF EDUCATION, AS WELL AS SPEECH AND HEARING PROFESSIONALS IN LOCAL SCHOOL PROGRAMS, IN COLLEGE TRAINING PROGRAMS, IN FEDERAL AGENCIES, AND IN NATIONAL PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS. ADDRESSES AND DISCUSSIONS WERE…

This report offers an extensive review of the current status of teacher education in Pennsylvania and the critical issues facing educators in that state. Research findings and studies by educators provided informed opinions and predictions on the following topics: (1) the characteristics of students K-12; (2) the characteristics of teacher…