For-Profit Certification for Teachers Is Booming

"More than 110 alternative certification programs — including iteachTexas, which Mr. Arrington is completing, and nonprofits like Teach for America — produce 40 percent of all new teachers in Texas, according to an analysis of Texas Education Agency data by Ed Fuller, a Penn State University education professor and former University of Texas researcher."

Teacher Training is Panned

"A panel of education experts has called for an overhaul of U.S. teacher-preparation programs, including a greater emphasis on classroom training as well as tougher admission and graduation standards for those hoping to teach in elementary and secondary classrooms. The panel's sweeping recommendations, released Tuesday, urge teacher-training programs to operate more like medical schools, which rely heavily on clinical experience."

Future teachers Must Show, Not Just Tell, Skills

"A new licensing system is being tested in 19 states that includes filming student teachers in their classroom and evaluating the video, also candidates must show they can prepare a lesson, tailor it to different levels of students and present it effectively."

Reforming Teacher Ed

"A group representing colleges of teacher education on Thursday called for its member institutions to work with the rest of their universities, as well as schools, states and the federal government to emphasize and improve in-school preparation for teachers-to-be."

Teachers Who Begin in Other Fields Lack Preparation, Survey Finds

"Teacher-education programs do not adequately prepare teachers who switch to the profession from other careers, according to a report out today from the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation and Hart Research Associates."

Study Tries To Track Louisiana Teachers' Success

"How do you train the best teachers? Leaders at the nation's teacher education programs don't know. The state of Louisiana has decided to figure this out, and the effort is attracting national attention — and causing some local discomfort."

Duncan: 'Revolutionary Change' Needed in Teachers Colleges

"Education Secretary Arne Duncan called for 'revolutionary change' in these programs, which prepare at least 80% of the nation's teachers."