States’ Teacher Policies Differ / Group: Licensing, Evaluation Processes in Need of Overhaul

A new public school teacher in North Dakota works for a year on probation before getting job security. For a teacher in Virginia, it’s three years; in Missouri, five.

The probationary period is just one example of how policies affecting the teaching profession vary from state to state, according to a report by the National Council on Teacher Quality, a private group in Washington.

Just as the federal No Child Left Behind education law is being rewritten on Capitol Hill, state laws nationwide need reworking, the nonpartisan group says.

The report found differences in how teachers are prepared, licensed, evaluated and compensated – all factors that affect teaching quality.

Kate Walsh, president of the National Council on Teacher Quality, said the variation in policies makes little sense but stopped short of calling for national standards for teachers.

“I’ve seen some states do some good things that I know wouldn’t happen if they were all in the same room trying to do it,” Walsh said.

Fourteen states require teachers to have annual evaluations, according to the report. Hawaii, Missouri and Tennessee let teachers go as long as five years without a formal review, it says.

Only about half the states require reviews to include a classroom observation.

Virginia requires evaluations every three years. A teacher who gets an unfavorable evaluation must be evaluated again within a year.

Massachusetts Commissioner of Education David Driscoll said states are reluctant to create too many requirements in this area. In large schools, he said, principals may not have time to review every teacher annually.

The majority of teachers go through undergraduate education programs at colleges or universities. But states, which approve these schools, set weak standards for them, according to the report.

For example, it finds that only nine states require aspiring elementary school teachers to take an introductory American history class while in education school.

Virginia’s elementary teacher candidates are required to have taken nine semesters of history courses, including American and world history.

Virginia Department of Education spokesman Charles Pyle said state officials feel that across the board, Virginia teacher requirements “mirror or exceed the recommended National Council of Teacher Quality standards.”

The report finds many states are making it difficult for people who did not graduate from education schools to become teachers. Barriers include requiring large amounts of course work and only allowing colleges, not other nonprofits or school districts, to run teacher preparation programs, the report says.

The Virginia Department of Education has a Career Switchers program that has brought several hundred teachers to state schools from military, professional and business careers, according to Pyle.

To qualify for the switch, prospective teachers must pass teacher examinations and have a bachelor’s degree, five years of professional experience and the course work required for their teaching area.

Virginia also requires mentors for all beginning teachers, including career switchers.

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