Pathways to Teacher Credentialing

Article: Panel Finds No Favorite in Teacher Prep Pathways
Source: Education Week

Here's the skinny-- After six years, a 24-member national committee found no conclusive evidence to assert superiority between traditional and alternative (e.g., Teach for America) credentialing programs for teachers.

The panel suggested that it is more illuminating "to compare particular aspects of such programs, such as the timing of students’ field experiences, the level of teachers’ content knowledge, or program selectivity, and how they affect K-12 students’ learning." Given these results and the well-know rates of teacher attrition (Ingersoll, 2001), real reform is needed. Further, teaching is a profession that needs professionalizing. It seems that neither traditional nor alternative programs are attracting the best or providing optimal preparation. Thus, rather than compare current options, it might be time to redesign.

I'm still cutting my teeth on how to address this problem, but it is addling.