Four annual surveys of the 50 states provide data for analyzing nation-wide trends in competency assessment of teachers. Most state plans for teacher competency assessment include testing one or more areas of basic skills, professional or pedagogical skills, and academic knowledge. The testing occurs at the entry level--admission to the teacher…

This report of the Task Force on Teacher Education in Missouri focuses on producing a high-quality cadre of teachers. The report is organized around three themes: (1) supply and demand of teachers, teacher recruitment, and selective admission; (2) appropriate preservice preparation of teachers with academically rigorous teacher education programs;…

Eight priority recommendations are outlined for attracting and preparing teachers, developing the new teachers, improving the teaching climate, and rewarding effective teaching. Consideration is given to issues related to effective teaching within the framework of seven areas: (l) early student interest; (2) entry into teacher education; (3)…

This study examined whether 540 teacher candidates who failed to or who successfully made the transition into teaching 7 years after commencement of teacher preparation differed in anxiety about teaching, attitude toward a teaching career, and self-perceived effectiveness as future teachers. At the beginning of teacher preparation in 1985,…

A study examined the employment status of elementary, early childhood, and special education graduates from Chadron State College (Nebraska) for the academic years of 1996/97-2000/01 at 2 and 5 years after graduation. Surveys of 282 education graduates, most of whom were teaching in small towns and rural communities of their midwestern states of…

A job analysis was conducted to define a knowledge domain necessary for newly licensed (certified) general science teachers to perform their jobs competently. The results of the job analysis will be used to develop test specifications for the Praxis II Subject Assessment in General Science. An initial draft domain of important knowledge statements…

A job analysis was conducted to define the knowledge domain in which newly licensed (certified) mathematics teachers must be knowledgeable to perform competently. The results of the job analysis were to be used to develop test specifications for the Subject Assessment in Mathematics of the Praxis Series: Professional Assessments for Beginning…

This report, prepared for the Pennsylvania Professional Standards and Practices Commission, summarizes the major recommendations for reforming the field of teaching as proposed by the Holmes Group and the Carnegie Commission. The paper compares the recommendations with current practice in the areas of career development and governance. Stages of…

A new professional licensure system for teachers developed by the Minnesota Board of Teaching in conjunction with the Educational Testing Service is described. Initial work with the Rand Corporation in 1987 provided a plan for a new licensure system. The state's expectations for a performance assessment system to measure the skills of first-year…

The impact of test item multidimensionality was examined as it affected fitting items on a teacher licensure test to an item response theory (IRT) model. Test item data from the 1990 study of G. W. Guiton and G. Delandshere are used. The Connecticut Elementary Certification Test (CONNECT) is a licensure examination designed to assess the subject…

The results are provided of an initial analysis of the reliability (generalizability) of the System for Teaching and Learning Assessment and Review (STAR) as a comprehensive measure of classroom teaching and learning for making teacher certification decisions. The STAR contains 140 indicators of teacher effectiveness and student learning, which…

Intended to provide background information for task force use, this set of working papers concludes with recommendations for revising the University of Oregon College of Education teacher preparation programs. Section I summarizes the concerns of Oregon educators, reports recommendations made by an ad hoc state committee and the chancellor, and…

In this study, different educator groups had to rank a total of 112 behaviors that had previously been judged to be important to the performance of first-year teachers. Focus was on determining which behaviors are important in the assessment of beginning teachers' performance and whether or not such assessment should be differentiated according to…

Several projects at the University of Georgia's College of Education provide information for program planning and design. The Diagnostic Teaching Cycle (DTC), which is being used to evaluate the undergraduate program of the Division of Elementary Education, has five components: identify, hypothesize, formulate goals and objectives, instruct and…

This study sought to determine if there was a difference in teaching effectiveness of entry-level 1-year vocationally certified teachers of vocational agriculture and entry-level 4-year provisionally certified teachers of vocational agriculture. Correlations were computed using performance on the teaching test, teacher educator ratings, students'…