The Pennsylvania Association of Colleges and Teacher Educators

A State Unit of the Association of Teacher Educators
and The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education

 

Implementation of the
No Child Left Behind Act

TO:: Members of the Pennsylvania State Board of Education
FROM: Terry W. Blue, President
RE: Implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act
DATE: November 5, 2002

It is the understanding of the Pennsylvania Association of Colleges and Teacher Educators (PAC-TE) that the State Board will be dealing with additional implementation processes regarding the No Child Left Behind Act at its November meeting. The Acting Deputy Secretary for Postsecondary and Higher Education, Frank Meehan, shared this information with us.

Mr. Meehan also presented us with a list of what he labeled “Fundamental Questions” regarding the certification processes that need to be followed in order to guarantee that all teachers are “highly qualified” by the terms of the No Child Left Behind Act. Some of our members engaged in a discussion of these questions with Mr. Meehan on Wednesday, October 30, 2002. At that time, they offered to present him with a written comments and suggestions in response to his question.

The PAC-TE Board of Directors met later in the day on the 30th and decided to develop an association response to the Questions as well. The PAC-TE Board has sent this statement to Mr. Meehan and thought our response also should be shared with the members of the State Board. It is included here for your review. With it, you will find a copy of the “Fundamental Questions” provided by Mr. Meehan.

PAC-TE hopes you find this information helpful in your consideration of related issues.

FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS

THE BIG SIX

  1. Is a degree in a core content area, plus a passing score on a content test (the definition of “highly qualified”) acceptable for certification in Pennsylvania? Is a bachelor’s degree in an area related to a core content area, plus a passing score on a content test acceptable for certification in Pennsylvania? Is an unrelated content area bachelor’s degree plus a passing score on a content test acceptable for certification in Pennsylvania?

  2. Should satisfactory experience on an out-of-state certificate (which required a bachelor’s degree and subject area test) combined with teaching experience (e.g., three years) be enough for certification in Pennsylvania? In practice this means:
      No new Pennsylvania content area test required.
      No Praxis test in reading mathematics, and writing
      No confirmation of student teaching
      No Principles of Learning and Teaching test
      No Act 354 requirements
        GPA of 3.0
        6 credits math and 6 credits English

  3. Is the Principles of Learning and Teaching better assessed over a 12-week time period by the preparing institutions and school districts during the student teaching experience than it is by the PLT test administered by ETS?

  4. What is the minimum amount of pedagogical instruction required: zero, as per NCLB and the American Board certification process, or 24 to 36 credits as now the case in Pennsylvania’s preparing institutions? Or somewhere in between?

  5. How can we best accommodate career changers who pass the content area test, but have no pedagogy?

  6. Is it acceptable for elementary teachers, for example, currently teaching 8th grade math, to meet NCLB requirements by taking the middle school math and in the process pick up a second certificate and become, by definition, “highly qualified”?

PAC-TE response to the six questions regarding the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act

Introduction
Members of the Pennsylvania Association of Colleges and Teacher Educators (PAC-TE) have been asked by a representative of the Pennsylvania Department of Education to respond to the attached six “Fundamental Questions” regarding implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act. The Board of Directors of PAC-TE is happy to meet this request on behalf of its members. Because of the content of the queries, we have chosen to provide our response to the Department and to the members of the Pennsylvania State Board of Education, who, we assume, ultimately will decide on the process to be followed.

PAC-TE thinks it is fortunate that Pennsylvania already has mechanisms in place to address the concerns included in the questions. The hard work over many years on Chapters 49 and 354 clearly has established a foundation and framework for such a response to the No Child Left Behind Act, and we will draw upon the result of that effort generously in our answers to the six questions.

Four general points seem to give focus to the task at hand and serve as the guiding principles for the implementation process:

    The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA) mandates high levels of content knowledge for all teachers. It is local to assert that strong content knowledge is a necessary condition for effective teaching.

  1. The NCLBA mandates the use of research-based instructional strategies. Such strategies and methods are learned in courses on pedagogy (teaching). Therefore, preparation in pedagogy prior to entering the classroom is essential for all teachers so they may be rated as “highly qualified” in order to meet the intent of the NCLBA.

  2. The NCLBA places heavy emphasis on the ongoing assessment of teacher performance at the preservice and inservice levels. Well-planned coursework and continuing, sequential assessment of teaching ability also must be necessary component of Pennsylvania’s response to the requirements of the Act.

  3. All teachers certified under chapter 49 and the more recent Chapter 354 currently exceed the NCLBA requirements. Pennsylvania's program approval and validation processes have positioned the Commonwealth well when compared to other states.

Response to Questions

Question #1 asks a series of sub-questions aimed to clarify the scope and extent of content knowledge and testing needed to be characterized as a “highly qualified” teacher. It is impossible for PAC-TE to offer an affirmative response to any of the three sub-questions embedded in question #1. We do agree that content knowledge is critical to successful teaching. It is a necessary but not sufficient condition for meeting the requirements of the state and federal legislation. Pennsylvania has a rich tradition and experience of requiring more than content expertise, and Pennsylvania does not want to sacrifice the substantial specialized knowledge, instructional skills, and professional and personal dispositions that convert general content knowledge into effective teaching and learning.

The NCLBA should not be a reason or an excuse for lowering current state standards in order to fill positions now staffed by persons with emergency permits. Instead, the leaders of the Commonwealth should develop creative approaches needed to fill all open positions with appropriately certified persons in accordance with state law. New York City, for example, was able to fill most of its openings this year by raising the starting salary for teachers from $32,000 to $39,000. Incentive programs to attract teachers to districts that historically have problems filling positions and the implementation of a statewide system for announcing and filling teaching openings are other examples that address the real problem without compromising well-defined state standards.

Questions #2 and #5 explore the standards that should be set for those who are prepared to teach in another state and those characterized in the question as “career changers.” A clear and consistent answer to these questions is obvious if one respects the requirements of the current Pa. code. All applicants for certification should meet the same high and rigorous standards -- whether they are out-of-state applicants, career changers, products of intern-type programs, or graduates of more traditional teacher education programs. The Chapter 354 standards were set high for a purpose. All students in the Commonwealth deserve fully certified teachers who meet those high standards, regardless of where they live.

Question #3 deals with the issue of whether the Principles of Learning and Teaching test or a twelve-week student teaching experience is a better assessment device. The question underestimates the value and over inherent in our existing certification system. Again, Chapters 49 and 354 require institutions to document preservice teacher competence and performance over the full term of enrollment in an approved program. The Principles of Learning and Teaching test and other pencil and paper tests may add little valuable information to that systematic evaluation. However, ongoing and sequential assessment throughout a preparation program, including student teaching, is an essential element of any program leading to the certification of “highly qualified” teachers.

Question #4 addresses the need for pedagogical instruction and seeks information on the number of credits required to provide it. Chapter 354 mandates no required minimum or maximum number of credits. Instead, the program approval process of Chapter 49 requires colleges and universities to develop, describe, and put in place programs that meet state standards. Such programs may vary in the number of credits required, depending on location and certification area, but they all must meet the standards to earn approval. This is a fair, responsive, and accountable system. PAC-TE feels it should be retained.

Question #6 deals with the awkward interface between NCLBA prescriptions and middle school organizational patterns. It probably is true that most of the currently approved Elementary Education programs (K-6) are not designed to meet the core content standards of the NCLBA for teaching seventh and eighth grade courses. New middle level guidelines and/or program standards should be developed to address this need. PAC-TE looks forward to the opportunity to contribute to a development process that would result in guidelines and program standards consistent with state law.

Summary

The Pennsylvania Association of Colleges and Teacher Educators’ central message may be summarized as follows:

  1. High quality teaching requires strong content knowledge, documented instructional skills, ongoing performance assessment, and appropriate professional and personal dispositions.

  2. Teachers certified in Pennsylvania under Chapters 49 and 354 currently exceed all NCLBA requirements.

  3. The NCLBA should not be a reason for lowering state standards to fill positions now held by the emergency-certified. Rather, creative approaches should be used to address the real problems causing such vacancies.

  4. All applicants for certification, whether out-of-state, career changers, intern program graduates, or traditional program graduates, should be required to meet the same high and rigorous standards.

  5. The ongoing assessment of candidates over the full term of their preparation experience (and then throughout their career) is the most powerful tool available for judging teacher competence. The possible redundancy of paper and pencil measures should be studied.

  6. The variety and flexibility provided by the current program approval process should not be sacrificed to rigid course or credit requirements.

  7. The use of teachers prepared for traditional elementary settings in seventh and eighth grade middle school settings requires study and possible changes in guidelines and program standards if it is to be consistent with NCLBA core subject requirements.

PAC-TE is grateful to have had the opportunity to offer its responses to these questions on issues of great interest and concern to its members and to the citizens of Pennsylvania. As always, we are willing to assist in any way we can with the NCLBA implementation process.

 
11/2002