This study was designed to investigate whether teacher literacy content knowledge affects student achievement in Texas schools. Teacher participants from Texas public schools completed a three-part survey. In Parts 1 and 2, teachers completed a demographic section and teacher knowledge of foundational reading skills. The survey consisted of…

Teacher quality has gained importance over the years. To ensure the quality of teaching and teachers, the pre-service teacher training programs are of great importance to gain the necessary competencies. In many countries, including Turkey, the 'notion of a graduate who is ready-to-teach is the norm'. Thus, to gain necessary teacher competencies…

A recent national study of state and local No Child Left Behind activities indicated that 80 percent of elementary teachers reported participating in 24 hours or less of professional development on reading instruction during the 2003-2004 school year and summer. Reading and professional development experts are concerned that this is not intensive…

The newly developed "Learning To Teach System" for the preparation of teachers in California and the accompanying standards (referred to as the "2042 Standards" since they were derived from Senate Bill 2042 (SB 2042) passed by the California Legislature in 1998) have changed the way some California educators perceive the…

This report presents findings about teacher quality from two longitudinal studies, the National Longitudinal Study of "No Child Left Behind" (NLS-"NCLB"), and the Study of State Implementation of Accountability and Teacher Quality Under "No Child Left Behind" (SSI-"NCLB"). The research teams for these two…

One of the most important aspects of NCLB is its demand that states ensure a "highly qualified" teacher for every student. This provision draws much-needed attention to the importance of ensuring equitable student access to high-quality teachers, write the authors. Some aspects of the provision have raised legitimate concerns--including…

This report presents a balanced picture of the debate on teacher quality in the U.S. and focuses on the aspects of teacher policy dealing with attracting, recruiting, developing and retaining effective teachers by synthesizing relevant research, identifying innovative and successful policy practices, facilitating exchanges of lessons among…