How do I know whether my child's teacher is highly qualified?
If my child's school has not provided me with information about whether my child's teacher is highly qualified, what should I do?
What questions should I ask my child's principal about teacher quality?
What is the legal definition of a "highly qualified" teacher?
Does "highly qualified" mean the same thing as "high quality"?
What else can I do to learn about teacher quality and to ensure that my child and all children have excellent teachers?
(This information is gathered from several sources. The Alliance welcomes feedback and question on this section. We also invite you to revisit this site regularly for updates, especially as states report on their definitions of teacher qualifications.)
How do I know whether my child's teacher is highly qualified?
Under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, school districts are required to notify parents of children in schools receiving federal Title I funds that they have the right to receive timely information on the professional qualifications of their children's classroom teachers. School districts must provide timely notice to parents if a child is assigned, or taught by, a teacher who is not highly qualified for four or more consecutive weeks.
In addition, districts must report:
Whether the teacher has met state qualifying and licensing criteria for the grade levels and subject areas in which the teacher is teaching;
Whether the teacher is teaching under emergency or other provisional status through which state qualification or licensing criteria have been waived;
The baccalaureate degree major of the teacher and any other graduate certification or degree held by the teacher, including the field of discipline of the certification or degree; and
Whether the child is provided services by paraprofessionals, and if so, their qualifications.
If my child's school has not provided me with information about whether my child's teacher is highly qualified, what should I do?
A good first step in determining whether your child's teacher is highly qualified is to speak to your child's principal. Ask whether your child's teacher meets federal and state requirements for being a highly qualified teacher. (Legal definition of a highly qualified teacher)
What questions should I ask my child's principal about teacher quality?
Questions you might want to ask include the following:
How does the district define high-quality teaching?
How does the district determine which teachers are effective? What is the district using as qualifications of effective teachers?
How do these qualifications relate to state, regional, or national criteria?
How are teachers evaluated? Is evaluation information used to guide decisions about professional development, hiring, etc.?
Do all students have access to high-quality teaching?
How are teachers assigned to the school? Is there a difference in the qualifications or levels of experience between teachers assigned to the highest achieving students versus the students who need the most help?
What is the percentage of highly qualified teachers in the school? What is the percentage of highly qualified teachers in the highest performing school in the district? In the district as a whole?
What is the district's plan for ensuring that low-income and minority students are not taught disproportionately by under-qualified or inexperienced teachers?
To what extent is there a relationship between inadequate teacher qualifications and poor student performance?
What steps are being taken to ensure that there is a qualified teacher in every classroom?
How is the district recruiting or retraining teachers where they are most needed? Has this school had a problem retaining highly qualified teachers? Has the district determined why teachers are leaving the school? What is the school doing to make sure teachers are supported?
(For middle school and high school teachers) When teachers were in college, did they major or minor in the academic field currently being taught? How do teachers demonstrate subject-matter knowledge if they did not major in the subjects they teach? Is a process in place to assess the subject-matter knowledge of experienced teachers? Is teacher training focused on ensuring that teachers have the subject-matter knowledge to teacher their students to the state's standards for learning?
How does the district recruit a high-quality teaching force?
Where is the district looking when it recruits teachers? How does it recruit?
What are starting salaries for teachers in this district? How do they compare to starting salaries in neighboring districts?
What kind of mentoring or training programs does the district offer teachers who are new to the district or those who are in their first few years of service?
How does the district support improvements in teaching practice?
Are teacher salaries and rewards linked to performance?
Is there adequate funding for ongoing training for teachers?
Is training for teachers rigorous, content-based, and directly linked to what teachers do in their classrooms?
Do beginning teachers have access to a mentor who provides support, evaluates teaching performance, and ensures that they receive training that will make them better teachers?
These questions were adapted, with assistance from Ross Wiener of the Education Trust, from the Parents for Public Schools toolkit designed to help parents initiate and participate in dialogues about the quality of teaching in their children's school districts (for more information about Parents for Public Schools. Visit their Web site at http://www.parents4publicschools.com or call 1-800-880-1222).
What is the legal definition of a "highly qualified" teacher?
(This section is drawn from The School Administrator's Guide to ESEA Formula Grants, which was written by Scott Joftus, et al., and was published by Thompson Publishing Group in 2002.)
Title IX, Part A, Section 9101, of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (signed by President Bush in January 2002) defines a "highly qualified teacher" in three ways. First, when the term is used with respect to any public elementary or secondary school teacher teaching in a state, it means the following:
The teacher has obtained full state certification as a teacher (including certification obtained through alternative routes) or passed the state teacher licensing examination and holds a license to teach in the state. If teaching in a public charter school, the term means that the teacher meets the requirements set forth in the state's public charter school law; and
The teacher has not had certification or licensure requirements waived on an emergency, temporary or provisional basis.
Second, when the term "highly qualified teacher" is used with respect to a teacher who is new to the profession, the definition depends on whether the individual is an elementary or secondary school teacher. For an elementary school teacher new to the profession, the term means that the teacher has accomplished the following:
Holds at least a bachelor's degree; and
Has demonstrated, by passing a rigorous state test, subject knowledge and teaching skills in reading, writing, mathematics and other areas of basic elementary school curriculum. This demonstration may consist of passing a state-required certification or licensing test or tests in reading, writing, mathematics and other areas of basic elementary school curriculum.
For a middle or secondary school teacher who is new to the profession, the term means that the teacher holds at least a bachelor's degree and has demonstrated a high level of competency in each of the academic subjects in which the teacher teaches by:
Passing a rigorous state academic subject test in each of the academic subjects in which the teacher teaches (which may consist of a passing level of performance on a state-required certification or licensing test or tests in each of the academic subjects in which the teacher teaches); or
Successful completion, in each of the academic subjects in which the teacher teaches, of an academic major, a graduate degree, coursework equivalent to an undergraduate academic major, or advanced certification or credentialing.
Finally, when the term is used with respect to an elementary, middle or secondary school teacher who is not new to the profession, it means that the teacher holds at least a bachelor's degree and has either met the applicable standard for a new teacher or demonstrates competence in all academic subjects that the teacher teaches based on a high objective uniform state standard of evaluation that includes the following:
Is set by the state for both grade-appropriate academic subject matter knowledge and teaching skills;
Is aligned with challenging state academic content and student academic achievement standards and developed in consultation with core content specialists, teachers, principals and school administrators;
Provides objective, coherent information about the teacher's attainment of core content knowledge in the academic subjects in which a teacher teaches;
Is applied uniformly to all teachers in the same academic subject and the same grade level throughout the state;
Takes into consideration, but not be based primarily on, the time the teacher has been teaching in the academic subject;
Is made available to the public upon request; and
May involve multiple, objective measures of teacher competency.
No Child Left Behind, then, for the first time sets broad federal parameters for the definition of a highly qualified teacher, explicitly leaving to the states the task of ensuring that teachers have a rigorous academic background and of testing teacher knowledge and skills.
Does "highly qualified" mean the same thing as "high quality"?
No. The term "highly qualified" is a legal definition and means that a teacher has at least the minimally required amount of training as determined by the federal government and your state. Although the definition has been created to ensure an effective teacher in every classroom, a "highly qualified" teacher is not necessarily effective in raising student achievement. Although research is incomplete, teachers most likely to raise student achievement are those who were good students themselves; performed well on academic tests; and have received sound training in classroom management, instruction, and student assessment.
What else can I do to learn about teacher quality and to ensure that my child and all children have excellent teachers?
You can become an advocate for teacher quality by staying informed and pushing your elected officials to take teacher quality seriously. In addition to the Alliance for Excellent Education, the following organizations and their websites can help:
GiveKidsGoodSchools.com is a project of Public Education Network (PEN) which seeks to build public demand and mobilize resources to provide a high-quality public education for all children. PEN and the Alliance believe that providing every child with access to the best possible education means making sure each child gets a good teacher, and PEN has a website that helps citizens become advocates. Visit their website at: http://www.givekidsgoodschools.com/goodteachers/index.html.
The Education Trust tracks and reports on teacher quality issues and has made the following commitments related to teacher quality:
to shine a spotlight on the problem of inequitable teacher distribution;
to highlight the communities and states that are trying to solve it; and
to otherwise push, pull, shove and help lead an effort to assure that poor and minority children have teachers of at least the same quality as other children.
Visit their website at: http://www.edtrust.org/main/main/equality.asp.
Education Week recently released the 2003 version of its annual report Quality Counts, which analyzes and grades the states in their efforts to provide public education for all their students. This year, the theme of Quality Counts was on teacher quality. Visit their website at: http://www.edweek.org/sreports/QC03/ (requires free registration).
The National Commission on Teaching & America's Future (NCTAF) is a nonpartisan and nonprofit group dedicated to improving the quality of teaching nationwide as a means of meeting America's educational challenges. Visit their website at http://www.nctaf.org.
The Council for Basic Education also has a great deal of information, and links to other organizations, about teacher quality. Visit their website at:
http://www.c-b-e.org/siteref/sitemap.htm.
The teachers' unions, the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers, have web pages that provide a great deal of information about teacher quality. Visit their websites at: http://www.nea.org and http://www.aft.org.
The U.S. Department of Education has a great deal of information-including legislation, policy guidance, and regulations-about qualified teaching. Visit their website at:
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/SASA/hqt/index.html.
http://www.all4ed.org/teacher_principal/questions.html
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