New teacher certification program angers NEA.

In spite of overwhelming agreement about the objective of the No Child Left Behind law to put a highly qualified teacher in every classroom, there is debate about whether the Bush administration's approach will work.

"The federal government is saying on one hand we are going to hold teachers to higher standards and, on the other hand, we are going to set up a system where teachers don't have to spend a minute in the classroom. It's a slap in the face of everything we know of what is needed to make a teacher highly qualified," says Dan Kaufman, spokesman for the National Education Association. Kaufman is referring to the new Passport to Teaching fast track certification, which emphasizes subject expertise more than pedagogical methods.

The computer-based Passport to Teaching certification from the American Board of Teacher Certification Excellence requires no coursework or class experience and is aimed at those with a bachelor's degree interested in teaching. Pennsylvania, Idaho and Florida have approved the program and offer the certification option as an alternative to the traditional certification method. At a cost of $500, a prospective teacher, whose preparation method and pace is at their discretion, must pass at least one subject area exam in elementary education, or mathematics (6-12), or English (6-12) as well as pass a subject teaching knowledge exam for certification. The teaching knowledge exam, which assesses the candidate's proficiency in teaching, covers such areas as effective instructional delivery and classroom management and organization. Although opponents see the certification program as merely passing a standardized test, Buffy Debreaux-Watts, the ABTCE marketing director, claims that it's more than that. "It serves as a yardstick that measures an individual's knowledge base and competency," she says.

The ABTCE claims its standards meet the federal government's designation of identifying highly qualified teachers and allocating them into classrooms by emphasizing subject matter expertise and, according to Debreaux-Watts, "by bringing a subject matter expert to the classroom where it is most needed and employed."

Those who oppose the ABTCE approach say subject matter expertise is only one of several skills of a high quality teacher. Although passing a rigorous test is necessary, it's not necessarily sufficient. Kaufman adds that using a shortcut like the computer-based test only exasperates the problem of attracting qualified teachers and "a most highly qualified teacher should combine formal training and certification with class experience and this [Passport to Teaching] is a step backwards.... This shortcut is an ideological attack on ways to attract qualified teachers."