Models and Measures of Beginning Teacher Quality

Drawing on analyses of a subset of teacher quality studies in which student outcomes were used as a dependent variable (Hess, 2001; Walsh, 2001), the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB; 2001) challenged traditional concepts of good teaching by emphasizing content mastery and verbal ability and downplaying the importance of pedagogy. In turn, the belief that pedagogy is a less powerful determinant of student achievement than content mastery has led policymakers to propose alternatives to traditional teacher preparation. Thus, the NCLB encourages states to develop routes that move teachers into classrooms on “a fast-track basis” and includes in its definition of “highly qualified teachers” individuals enrolled in such alternative routes. The NCLB draws no distinction between secondary and elementary teachers, or between general and special education teachers, in spite of the fact that content mastery would seem to have relatively less relevance to the effectiveness of elementary and special education teachers and that pedagogy would have relatively more. Arguably, for most special educators, pedagogy would seem far more important as a determinant of achievement than mastery of the content they teach, which often involves basic skills. Special education alternative routes are proliferating (Rosenberg & Sindelar, 2005), most probably in response to chronic shortages of special education teachers and the NCLB requirement that all teachers be highly qualified by the 2006– 2007 school year. Furthermore, in a recent national survey of special education alternative programs, Rosenberg, Boyer, Sindelar, and Misra (in press) identified a small subset that has adopted NCLB-like, fast-track approaches as well. In programs of this sort, participants are provided limited training, Models and Measures of Beginning Teacher Quality