From the ECS State Policy Database: Teaching Quality--Preparation - This policy database—updated weekly—is made possible by your state's fiscal support of the Education Commission of the States....

Preparing and Credentialing the Nation’s Teachers: The Secretary’s Eighth Report on Teacher Quality - The Secretary's Eighth Report on Teacher Quality presents the most current information for the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the outlying areas. The report outlines how states are preparing and credentialing teachers, and is based on state-submitted data from 2008, 2009 and 2010.(U.S. Department of Education, 2011) ...

2010 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Blueprint for Change - As a companion to last year's comprehensive state-by-state analysis, the 2010 edition provides each state with an individualized Blueprint for Change. Key policy areas such as teacher preparation, evaluation, tenure, dismissal and alternative certification are included in the blueprint. A reader has the option of selecting a state and downloading the individualized report and viewing the overall results for the nation. (National Council on Teacher Quality, 2010)...

Do States Have Certification Requirements for Preparing General Education Teachers to Teach Students with Disabilities? Experience in the Northeast and Islands Region - This report examines how the nine states and territories served by the Regional Education Laboratory Northeast and Islands prepare their general education teachers to teach students with disabilities. The authors find that eight of the nine jurisdictions require some coursework in teaching students with disabilities for initial licensure of general education teachers. The report identifies eight special education content areas that one or more states and territories in the region require teachers to study, and describes commonalities and differences in state certification requirements for general education teachers to teach students with disabilities. (Regional Education Laboratory Northeast and Islands, IES, July 2010)...

Evaluating the Fundamentals of Teacher Training Programs in Texas--Executive Summary - In the course of a two-year study of 67 education schools in Texas, much was learned about the policies at these institutions, as well as how these policies play out in practice, particularly in the coursework requirements that indicate whether a teacher has been adequately prepared. Among the findings: (1) The most consistent feature of teacher education in Texas is the lack of consistency; (2) Regulation and monitoring of education schools comes up short; (3) In spite of relatively strong regulatory policy the content preparation of Texas teachers is inadequate; (4) A high value is placed on "edu-tainment" at the expense of rigor and intellectual engagement; and (5) An inattention to output data suggets too little reflection on program improvement. (Julie Greenberg and Kate Walsh, National Council on Teacher Quality, April 2010)...

Title II State Reports 2009 - Title II of the Higher Education Act requires each state receiving funding under the act to report annually on the quality of teacher preparation in the state, including alignment of teacher standards, requirements for certification, pass rates, performance standards, teachers on waivers and state efforts to improve teaching quality. Interactive map allows selection of state report and plan.(U.S. Department of Education, 2009)...

Value Added Teacher Preparation Assessment Overview of 2007-08 Study - Five years of work has occurred as state leaders, research teams, university/district partners and national experts worked together to develop and implement Louisiana's Value Added Teacher Preparation Assessment. Louisiana is now at a point where it is possible to use an additional performance measure that extends beyond license test scores, surveys and the number of completers to assess the effectiveness of new teachers from the state's teacher preparation programs. (George Noell and Jeanne Burns, Louisiana Board of Regents, January 2009)...

Increasing Accountability for Teacher Preparation Programs - In meeting the requirements of the NCLB, states are focusing on teacher quality. However there is a question of who is accountable for teacher quality, and what are the standards. The 16 Southern Regional Education Board states are profiled here, detailing the accountability standards for each. (Jenny Jackson, Southern Regional Education Board, December 2006) ...