Teacher Preparation

Indiana Licensure Overhaul Promotes Content, Alternative Routes

By Stephen Sawchuk — September 04, 2009 1 min read
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With all this wrangling over teacher effectiveness and the best ways to measure it, you’d be forgiven for thinking we’d all moved on from old teacher wars (traditional vs. alternative certification, content vs. pedagogy) to the new ones. Well, think again.

In Indiana, the state’s professional-standards board advanced a plan to overhaul the state’s licensing system. The proposal would require teachers to pass a basic-skills test before entering a preparation program and to take more content coursework. It also would allow mid-career professionals to become teachers and administrators by passing tests rather than completing programs.

But it’s caught a lot of pushback, especially from state colleges of education and those who say it would weaken entry standards. And those groups will have a chance to promote changes to the elements as the rules go out for public review.

Anyone want to guess what the result will be?

A version of this news article first appeared in the Teacher Beat blog.