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For Immediate Release
April 23, 2004
Illinois receives highest grade for High Quality Teacher
Standards
Only state with an "A"
(Springfield, Ill.) - In a first report of its kind,
Illinois received a grade of 'A' for its Highly Qualified
teacher standards designed to meet requirements of the
No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). The grading was conducted
and recently released by The National Council on Teacher
Quality.
In the first of several report cards, NCTQ gave Illinois
the highest grade (and only 'A') noting the state is,
"Very rigorous; teachers become highly qualified
(HQ) primarily through a hefty 24 semester hours in content
course."
According to NCTQ's report - Necessary and Insufficient:
Resisting a Full Measure of Teacher Quality - the
non-profit organization reviewed the standards of 20 randomly
selected states. Each state was then given a grade for
the quality of its standards and their progress toward
meeting NCLB's requirements. The standards are known as
High Objective Uniform State Standard of Evaluation or
HOUSSE. Of the 20 states surveyed, the average grade was
a D+. The next closest state to Illinois was Oregon with
a B+. As of March 2004, according to the report, only
30 states had finalized their HOUSSE standards.
"We know that we have been ahead of the curve when
it comes to many aspects of meeting NCLB," said State
Superintendent of Education Robert Schiller. "It
is gratifying to have this type of recognition which shows
that we are doing well. At the same time, there is still
a lot to do for all states as we struggle to meet the
law's requirements."
Release of the report comes as the nation is just past
the halfway mark toward the January 2006 deadline when
most teachers will need a "highly qualified"
designation to stay in the classroom. NTCQ graded each
state on the basis of their rigor; likelihood that they
will identify teachers weak in subject knowledge; the
degree to which they reflect the state is serious about
addressing the problem; their clarity; and on how readily
accessible these are to the public.
According to the report, Illinois and Oregon recognize
that "short of a test, college- or graduate-level
course work is the most reliable, objective measure of
content knowledge. These states have created standards
that compel teachers to document their knowledge via content-area
course work."
In one indicator assessed, the report looked at whether
states set a minimum requirement that is likely to significantly
improve teachers' subject matter competency. Illinois
and Maryland were specifically cited as states that "wisely
set minimum course work requirements to ensure teachers
earn a significant portion of their credit through a rigorous
option such as course work."
Listen to Dr. Robert Schiller's
comments (MP3 audio file)
For a table of the grades and criteria please go to:
http://www.isbe.net/news/2004/nctq_report.pdf
For a full report, visit:
http://www.nctq.org/nctq/images/nctq_report_spring2004.pdf
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