ED463337 UD034850

Title: Solving the Dilemmas of Teacher Supply, Demand, and Standards: How We Can Ensure a Competent, Caring, and Qualified Teacher for Every Child.
Author(s) Darling-Hammond, Linda
Author Affiliation: National Commission on Teaching & America's Future, New York, NY. (BBB33593)
Pages: 44
Publication Date: 2000
Notes: Also supported by AT&T Foundation and Goldman Sachs Foundation.
Sponsoring Agency: Rockefeller Foundation, New York, NY. (BBB00165)@ Carnegie Corp. of New York, NY. (QPX12280)@National Inst. on Educational Governance, Finance, Policymaking, and Management (ED/OERI), Washington, DC. (EDD00114)@Ford Foundation, New York, NY. (QPX27000)@DeWitt Wallace/Reader's Digest Fund, Pleasantville, NY. (BBB12599)@BellSouth Foundation, Inc. Atlanta, GA. (BBB27850)@ William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust, Chapel Hill, NC. (BBB28111)@Philip Morris Inc., New York, NY. (BBB23398)@National Partnership for Excellence and Accountability in Teaching, Washington, DC. (BBB35641)
ISBN: 0-9654535-8-8
Available from: EDRS Price MF01/PC02 Plus Postage.
Availability: National Commission on Teaching & America, Kutztown Distribution Center, P.O. Box 326, Kutztown, PA 19530-0326 ($8). Tel: 888-492-1241 (Toll Free).
Language: English
Document Type: Opinion papers (120)
Geographic Source: U.S.; New York
Journal Announcement: RIESEP2002

This report explains the growing evidence that investments in teacher knowledge are among the most productive means for increasing student learning. The creation of rigorous professional standards for teachers is one sign of progress in this area. However, new teaching standards will have little import for students, particularly the most vulnerable ones, if school districts continue to hire teachers who are unprepared and assign many teachers outside their fields of expertise. The report discusses whether it is possible to raise standards and have enough teachers. It describes recruitment initiatives to address the problems of teacher supply, demand, and the need to achieve greater equity in all students' access to high-quality teaching. It also examines variations in standards across states and discusses what states and school districts can do to raise teacher standards while equalizing teacher salaries, establish license reciprocity across states, and expand teacher education programs in high-needs fields. The report offers action steps for governors and state legislators as well as state boards of education, state education agencies, and professional standards boards. An appendix presents the basis for cost and attrition estimates. (Contains 10 charts and 28 references.) (SM)

Descriptors: Academic Achievement; *Academic Standards; Alternative Teacher Certification; Elementary Secondary Education; Mathematics Education; Minority Group Teachers; Public Schools; State Standards; Teacher Competencies; Teacher Persistence; *Teacher Qualifications; *Teacher Recruitment; *Teacher Supply and Demand
Identifiers: Subject Content Knowledge; *Teacher Knowledge