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Teachers Aren't Prepared to Teach Their Students, Study Finds

Teachers Aren't Prepared to Teach Their Students, Study Finds

A new study finds that teachers are not prepared to teach their students.

According to the report conducted by the National Council on Teacher Quality, most states "haven’t done enough to prepare new teachers for the higher standards their students are expected to achieve," said an article on DailySignal.com. “With such a profound change occurring in K-12 student standards across the country, it would stand to reason that parallel changes would occur on the teacher side,” said Sandi Jabos, vice president and managing director for state policy for the council. “States need to ensure that new teachers are adequately supported in the transition to higher standards and beyond. And there is no better place to start than where new teachers begin to learn their craft — in teacher preparation programs.”

The eighth annual State Teacher Policy Yearbook, the article said, "examines the effectiveness of educators in all 50 states and concluded American school districts are mostly falling short in delivering well-prepared teachers, expanding the teaching pool and identifying and getting rid of ineffective teachers while retaining effective teachers."

According to the study, "most states received their highest marks in the eight-year history of the study 'because of significant reform, particularly in the areas of teacher evaluation and related teacher effectiveness policies.'"

"Florida, Indiana and Rhode Island each earned a B-plus, the highest grade in the country, for raising admission standards for teacher preparation institutions, requiring teachers to demonstrate knowledge of the content they will be licensed to teach and collecting the kinds of data that will help hold teacher preparation programs accountable for giving new teachers the tools they need to succeed," the article said. "Montana got an F, the only failing grade in the country."

Click here for a state-by-state summary.

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Article by Kassondra Granata, Education World Contributor

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