Chalkbeat

Education news. In context.

Chalkbeat

teacher certification

certification showdown

New York
Updated June 19, 2018

Judge strikes down rule allowing some New York charter schools to certify their own teachers

The ruling upends the plans of the city’s largest charter school network, Success Academy.

2017 in review

National
December 22, 2017

What we’ve learned: 5 lessons from education research to take into 2018

Researchers have worked through 2017 to separate fact from fiction.

teacher trap

National
December 13, 2017

America’s teachers don’t move out of state much. That could be bad for students.

Teachers are significantly less likely to move between states than others with similar jobs — and past research suggests that students suffer as a result.

it's official

New York
Updated October 11, 2017

The votes are in: Some New York charter schools can now certify their own teachers

In select charter schools overseen by SUNY, prospective teachers will soon only have to sit for the equivalent of a month of instruction before entering classrooms.

more heat

New York
October 10, 2017

SUNY faces legal threat against proposal to let charter schools certify their teachers

Lawyers representing the Alliance for Quality Education said they will seek an injunction if officials proceed with their charter school teacher certification proposal.

teacher certification

New York
October 8, 2017

SUNY revises controversial proposal to let some New York charter schools certify their own teachers

Prospective teachers will be required to sit for significantly more hours of instruction before they enter classrooms than in the original proposal.

teacher diversity

National
September 12, 2017

Certification rules and tests are keeping would-be teachers of color out of America’s classrooms. Here’s how.

Virtually every step in the common teacher certification process risks disproportionately excluding prospective teachers of color.

new regs

New York
July 6, 2017

Some charter school teachers could become certified without a master’s under proposed new SUNY rules

New regulations proposed Thursday by the SUNY Charter School Committee would allow charter schools to use their own training programs.

the write way

New York
March 22, 2017

What’s missing from the conversation about the state’s ditched literacy test for teachers?

Experts say that narrow debate misses a broader conversation. They argue that the test was never meant to protect against a flood of teachers unable to read and write.

Teaching teachers

New York
March 13, 2017

It’s official: New York’s prospective teachers will no longer have to pass controversial literacy exam

Prospective teachers will no longer have to take the Academic Literacy Skills Test, an exam designed to measure reading and writing ability.

regents roundup

New York
March 13, 2017

Major change to teacher certifications on deck for March Board of Regents meeting

The board will vote on whether to eliminate the Academic Literacy Skills Test, one of the four certification hurdles prospective teachers must clear in New York state.

Teaching teachers

New York
January 11, 2017

Regents discuss revamping New York state teacher certification requirements

The proposed changes include reviewing the passing score on edTPA, providing more test vouchers and potentially eliminating an "academic literacy" exam.

By the numbers

New York
March 19, 2015

Aspiring teachers struggled on new tests, data show, prompting diversity debate

The new tests are designed to make the profession more selective, but last year's pass rates have reprised concerns about diversity.
New York
April 29, 2014

Regents extend "safety net" for new teacher certification test after union lobbying

Aspiring New York State teachers won’t have to pass a new, tougher certification test this year or next year, thanks to a Board of Regents vote on Tuesday that came out of last-minute negotiations with the state teachers union. Teacher candidates who fail the exam can still get certified if they pass an easier paper-based exam.
New York
October 25, 2012

In 90 minutes, Tisch took on readiness gap, test objectors, TFA

Learning Matters' John Merrow and New York State Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch (Photo: Nancy Adler) The city's very low college and career readiness rate for black and Hispanic students is a statistic usually cited by advocates seeking to discredit the Bloomberg administration's education record. But when asked to measure the true value of a high school diploma in New York City Wednesday night by education reporter John Merrow, Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch turned to the familiar statistic to convey her concerns. "That, to me, is tragic," Tisch said, after rattling off the numbers. Merrow pressed her to account for the disparity between the city's graduation rate, which is over 60 percent, and its low college-readiness rates. "Why isn't this fraud?" he asked. "I didn't say it wasn't," Tisch said. The exchange was part of a 90-minute public dialogue in which Tisch also criticized families who opt out of state tests, set firm limits about the city's request to certify teachers, and proclaimed that the city and its teachers union would reach a teacher evaluation deal before Gov. Andrew Cuomo's mid-January deadline.
New York
October 19, 2012

Comments of the week: probing city's teacher certification idea

When Department of Education officials announced their interest in creating a teacher certification program earlier this week, the city's teachers union and many of our commenters responded with concern and alarm. United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew said he “strongly opposes” any effort to give the city authority over teacher certification, a process currently reserved almost exclusively for education colleges. City officials said it could help alleviate the shortage of teachers in some subject areas, but Mulgrew contended that the department's policies are to blame for the system's shortages. He called the department's professional development record "abysmal" and argued that it is encouraging teachers to flee the profession. Many of our commenters agreed. "Lisa" was among the commenters to question how well the city could train the uncertified teachers who would enroll in its program (and eventually work in the schools): Wow, "fast tracking" a fresh out of college special education teacher who will not even need a masters degree by placing him or her alongside a veteran teacher in a "thriving" school and then dumping them into a hard to staff school. I bet there are a ton of parents of special ed kids who can't wait to have that kind of teacher.