For more than half a century, the honors community has debated the role of standards. This comprehensive overview of those discussions--the first ever--traces the evolution of how honors education has defined itself from its early years right up until the 2022 adoption of the National Collegiate Honors Council's new "NCHC Shared Principles…

In response to rising college tuition and student debt over the past three decades, some institutions, localities, and states have implemented a range of tuition-free promise programs to promote college access and success. Programs vary widely in their design features, including eligibility stipulations and award structure. I explore the growing…

The National Council on Teacher Quality's (NCTQ) recent review of university-based teacher preparation programs concluded the vast majority of such programs were inadequately preparing the nation's teachers. The study, however, has a number of serious flaws that include narrow focus on inputs, lack of a strong research base, missing standards,…

Education policymakers have long sought to establish teaching standards that will measure new or continuing teachers against these standards. The problem is, existing methods for certifying teachers have been criticized for being either so onerous as to deter good candidates or so lax as to keep weak teachers in the profession. To provide another…

The Board of Regents (BoR) and State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) selected four external consultants to review and evaluate redesigned graduate programs for educational leaders and teachers. In addition, personnel from the Louisiana Department of Education reviewed all K-12 undergraduate teacher preparation programs and…

The Board of Regents (BoR) and State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (SBESE) selected external consultants who possessed knowledge of current research and effective practices to review and evaluate redesigned programs for educational leaders and teachers. In addition, personnel from the Louisiana Department of Education reviewed all…

Examines two studies on alternative certification programs and the findings from a survey of emergency-certified teachers that reveals vast differences in emergency teacher preparation. It shows that emergency certification programs provide substandard training and experience to teachers that can diminish student academic achievement. (GLR)

Objective: The authors describe the approval processes for subspecialties and the mechanisms for certification and recertification and review the status of training programs and numbers of diplomates with subspecialty certification. Methods: Published information and relevant data bases were reviewed. To date, 5,327 child and adolescent…

In a replication of a 1977 study, questionnaires and directed telephone interviews were used to gather information about programs preparing vocational and special education personnel to work with special needs students. Comparison of 142 returned questionnaires with 1977 results revealed that the relative order of coursework concentrations had…

This paper reviews findings from 19 studies of alternative teacher certification programs and concludes that they have not been shown to be inferior to traditional programs. The quality of the research is examined, and the appropriateness of the secondary content area model for elementary and special education is considered from theoretical and…

A review of the National Teacher Examinations (NTE) has focused on the Commons Examinations component. The Commons, now named the National Teacher Examinations Core Battery, tests general knowledge, communication skills, and professional knowledge in three separate tests. Users may select portions of the tests that best suit their needs at various…

Reviews some current criticisms of teacher education and the nature of recent reform proposals. Presents a series of propositions dealing with (1) potential reform of teacher education's substance and process and (2) governance of certification, accreditation, and the link between research community and teacher education process. (CMG)

Considered in five articles are various issues relating to licensure and minority-oriented counseling including: (1) developing a rationale for a minority counseling specialty; (2) multicultural counseling as a profession; (3) critical issues in the specialty; (4) research considerations; and (5) the implications of licensure on minority human…

This paper describes the process of principal licensure reform in Iowa. Upon adoption of the ISLLC standards, the state department of education required revision of all principal preparation programs to conform to state code and guidelines developed by an external review panel. This paper analyzes the review process and compares five programs that…

In Australia at present, there is no central agency for the accreditation of teacher education courses. This paper examines the implications for Australian Schools of Education of the key issues of accreditation of courses and faculties, licensing of beginning teachers and advanced certification, and continuing professional development of teachers…