NSBA's Letter for the Record on NCLB Hearing on High Quality Educators: March 5, 2007
March 5, 2007
The Honorable Edward M. Kennedy
Chairman, Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Michael B. Enzi
Ranking Member, Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
RE: Letter for the Record on NCLB Hearing – “Strategies for Attracting, Supporting, and Retaining High Quality Educators”
Dear Chairman Kennedy and Ranking Member Enzi:
On behalf of the 95,000 school board members who serve the nation’s 48 million students in our local public school districts, the National School Boards Association (NSBA) respectfully requests that this letter be entered into the record in conjunction with tomorrow’s important hearing on teaching quality. We commend your leadership in holding a hearing on this matter that is inextricably linked to the ability of schools and districts to fulfill the lofty goals of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), particularly raising achievement for all students.
The research on this matter is clear: no other school-related factor has a greater impact on student achievement than the ability of the student’s teacher. In short, teachers matter. School districts and states are striving to recruit and retain qualified and effective teachers but face significant targeted staffing challenges. The Highly Qualified Teacher requirements within NCLB have added to those challenges in some instances.
While hiring decisions remain the responsibility of local school boards, NSBA believes that Congress does have a role to play in assisting local school districts and states in their ongoing efforts to attract, support and retain qualified and effective teachers. The needs are particularly acute in high-poverty schools and for certain subjects in which teacher shortages are too common, including math, science, special education, and classes for English Language Learners.
NSBA’s legislative recommendations cover recruitment and retention, professional development, needed improvements to the Highly Qualified provisions in NCLB, and strengthening teacher preparation. While we recognize that there may be several legislative vehicles in which Congress can assist districts and states in strengthening teacher quality – including the reauthorizations of NCLB and the Higher Education Act, and legislation on U.S. economic competitiveness – we wish to take this opportunity to outline our recommendations since your committee will be leading any effort on this matter.
Recruitment and Retention
Through federal incentives and funding for existing programs, Congress can provide important assistance to supplement districts’ and states’ teacher recruitment and retention programs. For example, adequate funding for Title I and especially Title II (Improving Teacher Quality State Grants), as well as incentives like the Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program need continued support. NSBA also supports newer concepts, such as the Teacher Incentive Fund, which can assist district programs that reward teachers and principals who demonstrate positive results in high-poverty schools. Such programs can also help foster the creation and expansion of differential pay initiatives for teachers of high-need subjects and hard-to-staff schools. We also are encouraged by efforts in Congress to provide scholarships for undergraduates who commit to teach for several years in hard-to-staff schools or high-need subjects, and for experienced teachers who further their education and take on added responsibilities, including mentoring
Professional Development
Improving professional development or in-service training is critical to supporting and retaining teachers. We recommend partially redirecting NCLB’s focus and funding requirements from unproven sanctions to support for comprehensive professional development programs that can improve teaching and raise student achievement. Comprehensive professional development would include analysis of students’ learning needs, intensive induction and mentoring support, and peer collaboration. This approach would also result in additional Title I monies available for professional development.
Highly Qualified Improvements
States and school districts have made strong progress in their efforts to meet the Highly Qualified Teacher requirements within NCLB. Those requirements have also added to pre-existing recruitment and retention challenges, particularly for rural schools and certain subjects, such as special education. The Department of Education has recognized this by granting some flexibility to districts and states, and clarified in the IDEA regulations that states can develop a single multi-subject HOUSSE (High Objective Uniform State Standards of Evaluation) to allow special education teachers of multiple core subjects to demonstrate subject-matter competency in every core subject they teach. We recommend that Congress make that provision permanent, or permit a special education teacher with full state special education certification and a bachelor’s degree to be considered highly qualified.
Additionally, Congress should streamline existing highly qualified requirements by requiring instructional personnel employed by supplemental service providers to meet the same requirements as public school educators. Under current law, they are not held to the same standard.
Finally, some states and school districts are attempting to develop accurate and appropriate methods, such as “value added” models, for determining and rewarding teacher effectiveness. It is a costly and complicated process that requires extensive collaboration among key stakeholders, including school boards, administrators and teachers, in order to develop a system that is viewed as fair and accurate. Congress can assist in this progress by providing funding (through matching grants) for states to develop the necessary data systems. Although value-added assessments provide information on student performance, they should never be the sole determining factor in evaluating teacher performance, which must include other factors including peer and principal evaluations.
If Congress considers amending the highly qualified definition to take into account a teacher’s effectiveness, NSBA recommends that it be added only as an alternative method by which teachers can meet the standards, not as an additional requirement. This approach could allow teachers who have a track record of success in raising student achievement but who may not meet all the current credentialing or subject-matter requirements, to be deemed highly qualified. However, because of the complexity in developing such systems, Congress might consider creating a demonstration program for interested states wishing to utilize or create a value-added model for this purpose.
Teacher Preparation
Quality teacher preparation programs, whether traditional or alternative, are an integral component to ensuring the nation has an adequate supply of outstanding teachers today and in the future. Few would disagree that the nation’s teacher preparation programs have room for improvement. Congress should encourage schools of education to collaborate with local school districts to ensure appropriate alignment with NCLB requirements and state academic standards, as well as the proper education needed to enable teachers to effectively reach and educate today’s increasingly diverse student body. NSBA also recommends that Congress increase accountability for teacher preparation programs by providing incentives to states to develop accountability programs which track the preparedness and success of graduates of its teacher preparation programs in raising student achievement (e.g. Louisiana’s Teacher Preparation Accountability System).
Again, we appreciate your leadership and interest in strengthening the efforts of school districts and states to recruit, support and retain quality teachers. We look forward to working with the Committee on this issue as you consider legislation to address these challenges. If you have any questions or would like further information, please contact Marcus Egan, Director of Federal Affairs, at (703) 838-6707, or megan@nsba.org.
Sincerely,
Michael A. Resnick
Associate Executive Director