Commentary

The Future of Public Education in Georgia:  A Warm Body in Every Classroom

 Beth Roberts

Vera A. Milner Associate Professor of Education, Oglethorpe University, and President, Georgia Association of Independent Colleges of Teacher Education

The federal “No Child Left Behind” education reform act of 2002 requires that every classroom shall be filled by a “highly qualified” teacher, but the law leaves the definition of “highly qualified” to the discretion of each of the 50 states.  Georgia’s definition, developed by the Professional Standards Commission, meets federal guidelines with minimal criteria, allowing the PSC to propose new certification rules that could allow anyone with a bachelor’s degree to become a teacher. See http://www.gapsc.com 

 The Professional Standards Commission is proposing sweeping changes in educator certification.    If their changes are adopted, as expected, in February of 2004, by next fall the following scenario is possible. 

 A superintendent with no prior experience in the field of education might hire a principal who also has no experience in the field of education.  That principal, or any other principal in the state of Georgia, could hire a person who has a bachelor’s degree, with no minimum grade point average, from any institution that is accredited by any of a wide array of accrediting agencies.  If he or she can pass three tests in the Praxis series and gain employment, a 5 year certificate would be issued.  That newly-designated “teacher” may never have been in a classroom—not for an internship, not for student teaching, not even for an observation.  This is the “fast food” version teacher production.  And these “McTeachers” may be teaching your child.

 Under current certification policies, teacher preparation programs at colleges and universities are held to rigorous national and state standards that require constant monitoring of candidate qualifications, progress, and impact on student learning after completing the programs.  Candidates for certification must be recommended by colleges and universities that offer these approved programs. 

 Georgia currently has a minimum grade point average requirement of 2.5 for admission to teacher education, but that is slated to be dropped.  The state also currently requires that a teacher candidate must have a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution, the most respected kind of accreditation, but that requirement is also slated for change.  In order to be approved by the Professional Standards Commission, teacher education programs must now provide a coherent program of preparation, including extensive experiences in classrooms and a full semester of student teaching, which is a supervised internship.  All of these requirements will be circumvented by the proposed certification policies.  The proposed changes essentially remove standards from teacher certification.  It’s very difficult to square these changes with any kind of real commitment to “highly qualified” teachers for Georgia.

 Why, then, are changes being proposed that run counter to all we know from decades of research about truly “high quality” teachers and the ways they are prepared for their profession?  Despite the smoke and mirrors of No Child Left Behind, state education reform mandates, and the alleged shortage of teachers, the real reason is this:  The state can save a great deal of money by hiring beginning teachers who lack full credentials and who, according to research, are not likely to stay long in the profession, allowing for a revolving door brigade of new, inexperienced, low-salary replacements.  Get the picture?

 In fact, there is no teacher shortage in Georgia.  Within our state, there are plenty of certified teachers to fill every classroom.  The problem is that they are not employed in the teaching profession, and the state is not providing incentives and good working conditions to bring them back into the profession.  Research shows that “emergency” procedures such as those being proposed by the PSC are no answer.  In fact, people who go into classrooms unprepared to teach leave the classroom during or after their first year at a rate more than double the rate of those who have completed a teacher preparation program.

 According to Arthur Wise, president of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, “We have a huge teacher retention problem. And, the more we resort to emergency procedures to get warm bodies into the classroom, the higher the attrition rate is going to be."  Kurt Landgraf, President of ETS, the very organization that developed the Praxis tests, advises that, “Instead of seeking to fill slots through gimmicks and temporary fixes, we should invest in attracting top tier candidates and nurturing their professional development. We also must figure out how to keep many of the highly qualified, experienced and dedicated professionals who are already in our schools.”

 The proposed changes in certification requirements and the “test out” option as a route to becoming a credentialed teacher demean and devalue the preparation and professionalism of every teacher in Georgia.  The proponents of the changes ignore the fact that the states where K-12 children perform best on measures of student achievement have higher, not lower, standards for teacher preparation than Georgia currently has.

 As Director of Teacher Education at a university with top-performing graduates who are in high demand in the field, I am often asked to complete recommendations for my former students who are teachers.  One of the questions I can confidently answer, “Yes!” is, “Would you want this person to teach your child?”  So I ask you, “Would you want a person who may not have had even a required minimum college grade point average, who may not have attended a college that has gone through a rigorous accreditation process, who may never before have been in front of a classroom full of students, to teach your child?”  If the answer is, “No!” speak up for the children.  They can’t speak up for themselves.  They have only the voices of parents, teachers, and concerned citizens who are unwilling to compromise their futures. 

 If we’re going to leave no children behind, they must be led by teachers whose “highly qualified” status is based on true professionalism and understanding of one of the most demanding and important careers in society.  The children who are Georgia’s future deserve no less.

 (The public comment hearing for these rule changes  is Wednesday, January 7, 9 a.m., 2 Peachtree Street, 29^th floor.)