Brookings Papers on Education Policy: 2004,Used

Excerpt. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Brookings Papers on Education Policy: 2004Brookings Institution PressCopyright 2004Brookings Institution PressAll right reserved. ISBN: 0815773692 Introduction DIANE RAVITCH The 2003 conference of the Brown Center on Education Policy ofthe Brookings Institution addressed the question of why theUnited States does not have the teachers it needs. While the media typicallyfocus on a looming teacher shortage, the discussants went beyond the issue ofquantity to ponder why it is that American schools always seem to be scramblingto find enough wellprepared and effective teachers. What can be doneabout a perennial teacher shortage for certain fields, especially mathematicsand the sciences? Why are so many teachers assigned to teach subjects inwhich they have neither a major nor a minor? Is it more important for a futureteacher to gain pedagogical knowledge or content knowledge? Why do somany urban schools have disproportionate numbers of teachers who are uncertifiedand inexperienced? Why are so many poor and minority childrenassigned to classes taught by rookie teachers? What can states and districts doto change the situation? These and many other issues related to teacher education,teacher preparation, teacher assignment, and teacher compensationwere thoroughly debated by participants from a wide variety of disciplines andperspectives. The papers and discussions in this volume examine the controversies thathave been raging in policy circles for many years. As one would expect, nofirm conclusions were reached by the end of the conference. Where so muchdissension exists, the only meeting that might produce firm conclusions wouldbe one in which the participants represent only a narrow range of the politicalspectrum. That was not the case. While the participants did not issue anyringing policy manifestos, their clear and cool analysis moves the issues closerto the formulation of good policies and worthy experiments by shedding lighton important problems. One of the distinguishing features of the annual Brown Center meetings,as compared with the usual conference on education, is the heavy representationof economists. This is intentional and reflects the Brookings Institution'slongstanding commitment to a hardheaded, unsentimental economic analysisof policy issues. This strong element of economic analysis, I believe, hasgiven the Brookings education conference a distinctive voice in the field ofeducation, separating it from the runofthemill forums that all too oftenseem to be afflicted with selfpleading and defensiveness (hardly surprisingwhen many teacher educators are education researchers or work in the sameinstitutions). In their essay, Eric A. Hanushek and Steven G. Rivkin ask how the supplyof highquality teachers can be improved. Hanushek and Rivkin together havebeen responsible for much of the current research into the economic analysisof teacher quality. They review the state of research as it pertains to the relativevalue of teacher education, teacher experience, teacher testing, and teachercertification. Given the inadequacy of data now available, they conclude thatvalueadded assessment of student achievement is likely the best measure ofteacher quality. Using such data, they find that some teachers are able to bringabout dramatic gains in achievement for their students. "A string of goodteachers," they suggest, "can overcome the deficits of home environment ...and can push students with good preparation even further." But how does astate or district get good teachers? Most attempt to do so by tightening entryinto teaching, but Hanushek and Rivkin argue that this is not the best way toidentify good teachers. Nor would it be useful to raise all salaries, becauseboth good and notsogood teachers would benefit equally from such a move.They recommend that the best way to improve student performance is tofocus relentlessly on student performance. The best qual