US Teacher Training Gets 'F' From Panel

In a scathing indictment of current US teacher-training standards, a panel of education experts has called for sweeping changes to teacher preparation programs. In emphasizing the need for a dramatic overhaul, an education expert stated that “we need large, bold, systematic changes”: To wit, the panel, which spent 10 months compiling its report, recommended more hands-on, clinical training for would-be teachers—like the medical school model—along with tougher admissions and graduation standards for teacher-education programs.

In most states, prospective teachers mainly sit through college lectures, spending just 10-12 weeks observing teachers or student-teaching, reports the Wall Street Journal. Similarly, the panel urged a stricter accreditation process for the training programs themselves, saying the current system “gives stamps of approval to weak programs.” These recommendations come in response to increasing evidence that teacher quality is the biggest influencer when it comes to student achievement. Read the full article. (More teachers stories.)