Alternative teacher certification programs in Texas are threatened under a new proposal suggesting that those who teach children ought to have at least a 2.5 cumulative college average. Also, the proposal suggests that teachers should actually have some sort of training before they go to work.
Some in high-poverty schools are objecting, suggesting that this will make it hard for them to recruit. Apparently they rely heavily on college graduates with mediocre records and no experience. This may be yet another factor explaining why the Texas system, the model for NCLB, has such poor graduation rates.
Among other findings, the study showed a relationship between the increasing number of dropouts and schools' rising accountability ratings, finding that the accountability system allows principals to hold back students who are deemed at risk of reducing school scores -- but a high proportion of students retained this way end up dropping out.
What? Manipulating statistics? I'm horrified, of course. Naturally, that would never happen here.
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