While Michigan students learn a variety of skills in their time at school, perhaps the most important charge of public schools, beyond providing a safe and healthy environment, is to ensure that students are learning their three fundamental skills: reading, writing and arithmetic. Unfortunately, the achievement levels of Michigan public school…

Reviews the positions of the National Education Association on merit pay and on establishment of independent teacher certification boards and explains how those positions contrast with Myron Lieberman's proposal (EA 519 376) for the creation of national educational specialty boards to recognize outstanding teaching. (PGD)

Argues that because there is no overall teacher shortage, but rather specific subject area shortages and adverse selection and allocation problems, the No Child Left Behind Act's requirements that all teachers be "highly qualified" is important and attainable. To improve teacher quality, teacher certification should be modernized and…

Presents six letters discussing various aspects of a discussion on restructuring teachers' salaries in the Soviet Union. Considers such questions as who should determine skill level, evaluation criteria for the innovator, cost of living, and differences in school quality. (DK)

In the proposed Master Teacher Program, training, experience, and performance determine pay. Four career stages are set up for teachers: apprentice, professional, senior, and master. An estimated 87 percent of all Tennessee teachers would be eligible for pay incentives ranging from $1,000 to $7,000 a year. (PB)

This article offers a rationale for requirement of the master's degree for teachers and suggestions for how such a policy could be implemented. It is suggested that, by the turn of the century, master's degree requirements will be inevitable because of societal expectations. (IAH)

Improvement in educational quality requires raising the standards in administrator and teacher preparation and certification; increased tax support for public schools; aggressive teacher training recruitment programs; strong personnel evaluation programs in all school districts and colleges of education; and employment practices based on…

Changes that should be considered in the Indiana public school system involve: (1) longer school year; (2) commitment to student and parent freedom of choice; (3) teachers' salaries; (4) tougher graduation requirements; (5) teacher/administrator workload; (6) functional literacy test; (7) concern for non-public education students and teachers; (8)…

Urges creation of national certification boards in several educational fields to justify highly qualified elementary and secondary teachers who could then be eligible for higher pay. Cites arguments against merit pay, explains how certification boards would defuse union opposition, and examines drawbacks in recent federal efforts to encourage…

How can we fix America's floundering public schools? The conventional wisdom says that schools need a lot more money, that poor and immigrant children cannot do as well as most American kids, that high-stakes tests just produce teaching to the test, and that vouchers do little to help students while undermining our democracy. But what if the…

Proposes categories of teacher ability that make it possible to increase Soviet teacher salaries depending on the results of certification, seniority, and class size. Urges economic motivation as an incentive to attract better candidates to the teaching profession. Criticizes the present practice of awarding salary increases for length of service,…

Despite similar cultural roots and standards of living, the secondary education systems of France, the Netherlands, England, Scotland, and the United States produce remarkably different levels of achievement in mathematics and science. An examination of achievement at a given age shows that the French and Dutch have learned the most, Americans the…

High schools throughout the United States are turning out graduates who are deficient in mathematics and science education. The field of education has come to be staffed by less competent teachers, as more qualified and more able individuals have been lured away to higher paying professions. The result of this has been the impairment of American…

"Quick fixes" and over-reactive policy mandates don't clearly anticipate long-term implications. Examples are given of the negative effects of scholarship/loan programs, career ladders, changing credentialing requirements, and teacher competency testing, originally devised to avoid teacher shortages. (Author/CB)

The No Child Left Behind Act requires all teachers to be highly qualified by 2005-06. Accomplishing this will require statewide collaboration among higher education, school districts, certification boards, and departments of education. Data from recent studies of teacher recruitment, retention, and professional development in Wyoming illustrate…