WASHINGTON (April 25, 2014) – Twelve education organizations, including Democrats for Education Reform and the Education Trust, released the following statement on the U.S. Department of Education’s teacher preparation regulations:
“Nearly 200,000 graduates from schools of education and those who have completed alternative route teaching programs are placed in American classrooms each year. Too often, these educators and the school districts that hire them find out all too soon that they are ill-prepared for the demands of today’s classrooms. As a consequence the children in their classes do not have the opportunity to learn to high levels. This practice is unfair to teachers and devastating to students, especially to students of color, low-income students, English language learners, and students with disabilities, who year after year are taught by the least effective teachers.
“We are encouraged by today’s announcement that Secretary Arne Duncan and the U.S. Department of Education will move forward with rules aimed at improving our system of teacher education. The public rulemaking process will allow multiple stakeholders to offer comments about how best to accomplish the improvement our teachers and students need.
“We urge the Secretary to release a proposal that meaningfully assesses teacher preparation program perfor- mance, generates useful information for prospective teachers and hiring districts, and holds programs account- able for results, including tying preparation program quality directly to the student outcomes of their graduates.
“The quality of our nation’s teachers drives student success – and we cannot allow ill-prepared teachers to stand in the way of high achievement, especially for our most vulnerable students. This regulation is a much-needed first step towards ensuring that all students receive the quality instruction they deserve.”
Click here to download a PDF of the joint statement.
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