The State of Washington is now proposing a teacher testing
process in an attempt to weed out teachers who are underqualified in
term of their own academics.
 
        I was wondering if anyone has already studied the effectiveness
of doing this process? Do students learn better with teachers
who have or can complete such a process?  Are these tests effective?
 
        A light search of the ERIC files produced two articles.  One
article pointed out that teachers who can pass the NTE Core Battery Test
have a higher GPA themselves, but can not predict effectiveness of
teaching. ( Educational and Psychological Measurement, v51 n4 p1023 - 28
Win, 1991 - Moore, Don, and others.)
 
        The other article has an abstract that reads as follows:
 
        Two perspectives on assessment for teacher certification are
        described: the competency orientation, and the professional
        orientation.  These perspectives are used to discuss current
        problems, basically validity issues, in teacher assessment:  1)
        a professional orientation toward assessment; 2)  criterion -
        referenced assessments; and 3) the unit of analysis.  (SLD).
 
        The evidence to suggest that additional teacher testing will
improve education is weak.  This process is already performed through
most colleges.  These institutions are suppose to use enterance
examinations, courses, and in my case, teacher college enterance
examinations to screen out candidates.  At Central Washington Unversity
- Ellensburg, Wa a student must take an enterance exam before entering
that teacher program.
 
        Most colleges have such safegards.  Why not pass a law which
mandates colleges to have such a test instead of creating another level
of government operations which already press our countries budgets? Why
not pass such a law?  Because most states have such laws.
 
Keep your stick on the Ice,
Paul
 
 * SLMR 2.1a * It's only a hobby ... only a hobby ... only a
--- TriDog 6.1
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