The Maryland 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 teacher…

The Principal's Legal Handbook contains information and recommendations for practice in four areas. Section 1, "Students and the Law," yields interesting and informative answers on a number of issues related to students and the law: recent issues in schools relative to students' rights; the use of technology; and the latest case law and…

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…

Written in a reader-friendly style for busy faculty members and school administrators with little or no prior knowledge of statistics, this comprehensive model is designed to create fair, valid, and reliable assessments of teacher knowledge and skills. Evaluation experts Judy Wilkerson and Steve Lang provide detailed guidance for the complete…

Designed for policymakers and programs planners involved with the topic of teacher testing, this publication outlines issues involved in teacher testing and describes state-level activities in this area. A question-and-answer section provides general information on major types of teacher tests, prevalence of teacher tests, problems addressed by…

Information on competency testing for teacher certification is reprinted exactly from four pages (70-71, 129-130) of a National Center for Education Statistics Publication (volume I of "The Condition of Education: Elementary and Secondary Education 1988," edited by J. D. Stern.) As of the fall of 1987, 45 states had enacted competency testing…

Research was reviewed that addressed the question: Is type of teacher education related to student performance? Major findings were: (1) teachers with master's degrees were rated as more effective by supervisors and had higher levels of student achievement than teachers with bachelor's degrees; (2) supervisors rated college of education graduates…

The Mississippi Teacher Assessment Instruments (MTAI) are key elements in a process for both ensuring teacher competency and accrediting teacher education programs. Institutions providing teacher education must pass both a process review and a performance review. To pass the process review, institutions must screen students according to set…

Factors that influence the design of state teacher policies and the impact of these policies on issues of coordination, equity, and teacher supply are examined. The structure and operation of policies in effect in four states--California, Colorado, Georgia, and Oklahoma--are described, and the factors that influence the design of these state…

The process for the certification of teachers has changed over the years reflecting a transition in the qualifications and background required from a teacher. A common requirement in all States for vocational teachers is actual occupational employment and, in Pennsylvania, an additional requirement is the completion of the occupational competency…

This paper discusses court cases that are a legal basis for screening programs for teacher education. The Supreme Court case of Adler v. Board of Education established that the states do have the power to set up requirements or rules concerning the quality of moral character in applicants for teaching certificates. Vogulkin v. State Board of…

The purpose of this study was to discover and describe existing standards of preparation for teachers of English in Kentucky, to gather and organize data on the characteristics of the public high school teacher of English in Kentucky, and to compare certain of the characteristics of these teachers to the standards of preparation. Most data were…

Georgia is developing a state system to grant teacher certification on the basis of classroom performance and teaching effectiveness. In addition, a system of supportive supervision is available to each local school system as it develops plans for beginning teacher staff development. (Author/MLF)

The California Commission on the Teaching Profession issued its report in November 1985. This article discusses the 10 recommendations which directly affect teacher education. Strategies associated with each recommendation are presented along with several comments and concerns. (MT)

Reflects on the positive merits of the educational specialty board concept discussed by Myron Lieberman (EA 519 376) and urges further development of the concept, but also argues that Lieberman's proposal has little relation to merit pay and that the merit pay connection should be dropped. (PGD)