A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

The Policy Forum, Vol. 1, No. 1 - October 1997

The Federal Role in Developing the"Best Teachers"

President Clinton made education the centerpiece of his 1997 State of the Union Address. As a major part of his 10-point call to action, he said "to have the best schools, we must have the best teachers."

The teaching quality issue has emerged from a number of research findings (see Transforming Teacher Knowledge: A 21st Century Policy Challenge) and policy initiatives including the 1996 report of the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future entitled What Matters Most: Teaching for America's Future. The Commission report found that "most schools and teachers cannot produce the kind of learning the new reforms demand--not because they do not want to, but because they do not know how, and the systems they work in do not support them in doing so." It provides a blueprint for recruiting, preparing, and supporting excellent teachers involving multiple stakeholders.

In response to the National Commission's report, the President issued an executive order directing the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to assist states and local communities in improving the quality of teaching. ED has identified federal resources available to promote excellence and accountability in teaching. A new Title V of the Higher Education Act focused on recruitment, preparation, and support for beginning teachers in high poverty urban and rural communities has been proposed. ED is working to expand its support for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, improve existing professional development programs, develop indicators of teacher quality through the National Center for Education Statistics, and strengthen support for research and development (R&D).

The Institute is contributing to these objectives by supporting several important new R&D initiatives:

National Commission on Teaching and America's Future. We are funding an 18-month $604,411 grant to the Commission for research in 12 partner states to create a knowledge base to inform policy initiatives in teacher professional development. This grant supports: (1) networks of state policy teams to share strategies, progress, and experiences, (2) development of an inventory of state-level indicators of the conditions of teaching, (3) assistance to states in using the indicators to deepen public and practitioner understanding of the issues, and (4) creation of state-level strategic action plans to link teacher development and student achievement.

Center on Policy and Teaching Excellence. In August 1997 we made an award to a consortium headed by the University of Washington for a new R&D center to be funded for $7.5 million over a 5- year period. The Center will conduct sustained research on the full range of policy issues relevant to teaching excellence. The findings of the Center will inform policy at all levels of the education system.

Partnership for Excellence and Accountability in Teaching. Using funds from several sources, including the Institute, the Office of Educational Research and Improvement plans to invest up to $24 million in a 5-year comprehensive national initiative to involve the major stakeholders in improving preparation, induction, and professional development for K-12 teachers.

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