Union Suggests Tough Tests for New Teachers

Saying that the nation will not be able to raise academic standards for students unless it sets higher standards for instructors, the country’s second-largest teachers union will call today for the creation of two rigorous tests to control who is allowed to enter the profession.

The union, the American Federation of Teachers, will propose requiring that anyone who wants to be a teacher maintain at least a B average in college (currently, most states require only a C), have an academic major, complete a full year of an internship under the guidance of an experienced mentor and pass two tests--one given after the sophomore year of college and the other after graduation. The second test would focus on teaching skills.

“We have a unique opportunity, over the next decade, because we must replace 220,000 teachers each year” as a result of retirements and growth of student populations, Sandra Feldman, president of the union, said in an prepared statement.

“If we enhance teacher education programs and raise requirements for new teachers now, we will be able to make dramatic improvements in the effectiveness of teachers and in student performance for years to come.”

The report comes amid a vigorous debate over how best to guarantee that students are being taught by the most capable instructors. The AFT’s advocacy of new, nationwide tests is likely to strengthen the growing political consensus that more rigorous training and testing of teachers are needed.

Both Vice President Al Gore and Texas Gov. George W. Bush--the presumptive Democratic and Republican presidential nominees--have made teacher training and calls for testing prominent parts of their education agendas. The AFT has strongly backed Gore.

The nation’s other major teachers union, the National Education Assn., has also recognized the political appeal of the call for higher teacher quality and has backed experiments in having experienced teachers review the performance of newer ones. But the NEA historically has been more skeptical about calls for broad-ranging tests of teachers.

The AFT represents nearly a million teachers, mostly in urban areas. United Teachers-Los Angeles, the union representing teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District, is affiliated with both the AFT and the NEA.

Both unions have steadfastly opposed requirements that practicing teachers pass tests to keep their jobs. The current AFT proposal would not change that.

The union’s call for higher standards for teachers quickly drew positive reactions.

“They are moving in the right direction,” said California State University Chancellor Charles B. Reed, whose 22-campus system produces 60% of California’s teachers.

“Everybody in America, including parents, [is] figuring out that if K-12 students have high-performing teachers, kids are going to learn. If they have poor teachers, kids are going to regress,” Reed said.

In the debate over teacher training, conservatives have generally argued that knowledge and experience in specific subject areas, rather than teaching skill, ought to be given the greatest weight. That side often cites anecdotal evidence that individuals who are esteemed in their chosen fields--engineers or even biologists with doctorates--are prevented from teaching high school because they lack proper credentials.

The AFT report acknowledges that criticism, saying education programs for teachers often are repetitive, place little importance on learning college-level content and have little value for teachers-to-be trying to succeed on the job.

But rather than abandoning such training programs, the union says, they should be strengthened.

The report calls for all teachers to study a broad liberal arts curriculum during their first two years in college and to get grades averaging, at least for now, B- or better to gain admittance to teachers’ education programs. Over time, the requirement would be upgraded to a solid B.

In the Cal State system, students wanting to enter teaching are required to have grades equal to at least the average for their campuses. On some of the system’s campuses, that average can be considerably below a B.

In addition, the union says, candidates for teachers’ education programs should be required to demonstrate college-level mastery of key subjects--math, science, English, history and geography--by passing a national, voluntary test.

Currently, about two-thirds of the states require passage of such a test; the most widely used tests, however, require only about a high school level of reading and writing and a middle school level of mathematics.

Aspiring teachers in California are required to take, but not to pass, a basic skills test that is generally considered to be at about a 10th-grade level of difficulty.

Once they have completed training, the union proposal says, aspiring teachers should be required to pass a test of their knowledge of teaching, to be developed by the National Academy of Sciences.

The report acknowledges that, as of now, no consensus exists on what such a test should cover. The union calls on Congress to commission a study to develop such a consensus.

“We can no longer tolerate a ‘do your own thing’ ” course of studies in education schools, the report says. “We know enough now about learning and effective teaching in areas such as reading and mathematics to develop a . . . consensus about what should be taught to all teacher candidates in these fields.”

In one regard, California already does what the union suggests. The state requires everyone who wants to become a teacher to take a five-year course of study, completing an undergraduate major and then a year of teacher training. But given the pressing shortage of teachers in California, many enter classrooms without that year of training.

Reed has pushed for creation of an alternative path that would allow students to complete their training to become teachers in four years. Reed said he would oppose a “one-size-fits-all model.”

*

Time education writer Kenneth R. Weiss contributed to this story.