TEACHER EDUCATION
CAUCUS

The CFA Teacher Education Caucus is a group of teacher educators and allies who envision public schools as sites for promoting social justice, and want to mobilize the support of CFA to resist recent state and national legislation crafted by the far right. The effects of this legislation will ultimately be the destruction of public K-12 education. Lest CFA members think this characterization of the effects of the legislation is overly pessimistic, stay tuned to this caucus web site.

If you would like to be added to the Teacher Education Caucus' email listserve, please email David Balla Hawkins at dhawkins@calfac.org

On this page: In Brief Upcoming Events in Teacher Education Resources for Teacher Education

Click here to see the CFA Resolution on unfunded mandates, presented by the Teacher Education Caucus, and approved at the 65th CFA Assembly on Oct 22, 2006.

In Brief

California public school testing regulations.(pdf) People's Guide to High Stakes Testing in CA 2006-7 California teacher credential regulations.(pdf) 'No Child Left Behind' regulations.(pdf) Does standardized testing improve schools and teacher quality, and increase educational opportunity?(pdf) Evidence in Teacher Education - The Performance Assessment for California Teachers (PACT)(pdf) Bush Family Co. Capitalizes on Education Act (pdf) No Child Left Behind as an Anti-Poverty Measure

Letter from CFA to California Commission on Teacher Credentialing in Opposition to American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence (ABCTE) Teaching Examinations Click Here

Does the No Child Left Behind Act Improve Schools and Increase Educational Opportunity? Article By Harold Berlak

'No Child Left Behind' Comes to Oakland - Classroom Teacher Interview Article by Ken Epstein

Dumbing down teachers Article from Ann Schulte http://www.newsreview.com/issues/chico/2004-08-05/guest.asp

Articles Alternatives in Education Schools without teachers -- a hidden scandal Kitty Kelly Epstein Wednesday, June 15, 2005 (pdf)

This Week's Featured Article: Competition for district and school contracts has increased as more companies have entered the educational marketplace. Schools must become more discerning buyers of educational services, and avoid naive assumptions about the attributes of markets. ...the theoretical benefits of private delivery systems, finance structures, and ownership incentives, do not necessarily transfer to public schools when they privatize. School districts, educational policymakers, and the larger community currently lack understanding, knowledge and wisdom about how privatization can hinder or promote the goals of public education. Patricia Rufo-Lignos and Craig Richards consider the state of our understanding of the impact of privatization in: Emerging Forms of School Organization ** This article is featured on TCRecord's home page: http://www.tcrecord.org ============================================= Plus four new book reviews: Jess House reviews: Organizational Improvement and Accountability: Lessons for Education from Other Sectors edited by Brian Stecher and Sheila Nataraj Kirby & Jane Dawson reviews: Lifeline Learning: Education Across the Lifespan edited by John Field and Mal Leicester & Carla Edlefson reviews: Standards Deviation: How Schools Misunderstand Education Policy by James P. Spillane Cynthia L. Carver reviews: The Teaching Career edited by John I. Goodlad and Timothy J. McMannon ** These reviews are featured on TCRecord's home page

Subtraction  According to the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, 129,054 people took the California Basic Educational Skills Test in 2001-02. In 2003-04, that number dropped to 84,048.   Fewer Californians are enrolling in college programs to prepare themselves for school-teaching careers, which means fewer qualified teachers will be available statewide if the trend persists, experts said.   According to the latest report card from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, enrollment in teacher-education programs at public and private universities throughout the state was down for the second consecutive year in 2003-04. More at http://www.pe.com Note: Registration is required at this link.

Our Impoverished View of Educational Reform This analysis is about the role of poverty in school reform. Data from a number of sources are used to make five points. First, that poverty in the US is greater and of longer duration than in other rich nations. Second, that poverty, particularly among urban minorities, is associated with academic performance that is well below international means on a number of different international assessments. Scores of poor students are also considerably below the scores achieved by white middle class American students. Third, that poverty restricts the expression of genetic talent at the lower end of the socioeconomic scale. Among the lowest social classes environmental factors, particularly family and neighborhood influences, not genetics, is strongly associated with academic performance. Among middle class students it is genetic factors, not family and neighborhood factors, that most influences academic performance. Fourth, compared to middle-class children, severe medical problems affect impoverished youth. This limits their school achievement as well as their life chances. Data on the negative effect of impoverished neighborhoods on the youth who reside there is also presented. Fifth, and of greatest interest, is that small reductions in family poverty lead to increases in positive school behavior and better academic performance. It is argued that poverty places severe limits on what can be accomplished through school reform efforts, particularly those associated with the federal No Child Left Behind law. The data presented in this study suggest that the most powerful policy for improving our nations’ school achievement is a reduction in family and youth poverty. David C. Berliner Regents' Professor College of Education Arizona State University Tempe, AZ 85287 Reproduced with permission Download the full pdf here

Posted June 11, 2004 Draft for Discussion by CFA Chapters CFA Teacher Education Caucus Resolution – June 3, 2004 Whereas in the last decade state and federal laws and regulations, enacted purportedly to raise the quality of public schooling an d teacher education in California, do not provide an equitable educational experience for underrepresented groups, but instead transform schooling into standardized test preparation; Whereas California’s public schools and teacher preparation programs are dictate by K-12 content standards, scripted and/or state-mandated, one-size-fits -all curricula, and standardized high stakes testing programs; Whereas the above mandates fail to promote higher order thinking skills and democratic participation that promote social justice and equity, Whereas these mandates threaten academic freedom; and Whereas the majority of California’s K-12 pubic school students are students of color, more than 1.5 million students are language “minority” or bilingual, and the teaching force is increasingly monolingual and of European origin; Therefore, be it resolved that we support the development of programs that facilitate the entry of people of color and low-income people into the teaching profession and the removal of barriers to the recruitment of low-income teachers and teachers of color; Be it resolved that we support the adoption of the “Opportunity to Learn” (OTL) index proposed in SB 1419, rather than continuing to use the “Academic Performance Index (API) and “Annual Yearly Progress”(AYP) index that depends up standardized test scores and are used to identify failing schools and inadequate teachers; Be it resolved that we support a return to greater academic freedom for K-12 teachers and teacher educators in curricula and pedagogical decision-making; Be it resolved that we oppose assessment mandates such as the Teacher Performance Assessment (TPA), as required by California Senate Bill 2042, and the “Highly Qualified Teacher” criteria, mandated by the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (No Child Left Behind); Therefore, he it resolved that this resolution be disseminated to the various media across the state as part of a coordinated campaign with the purpose of meeting the above goals; Finally, be it resolved that the undersigned organizations make a concrete commitment to providing personnel and resources to meet the aforementioned goals. CFA Teacher Education Caucus Roberta Ahlquest, SJSU; Ann Berlak, SFUS; Lillian Vega Castaneda, CSUCI; Linda Current, CSUS; John Halcon, CSUSM; Sally Hurtado, SSU; Rose Marie Kuhn, CSUF; Virginia Lea, SSU; Theresa Montano, SCUN; Pataray-Ching, CalPoly Pomona; Rosalinda Quintanar, SJSU; Julie Rivera, CSULB; Olga Rubio, CSULB. *Research to support this resolution can be found at www@calfac.org, then to Committees, and then to Caucuses, then to Teacher Education Caucus.

UPCOMING EVENTS IN TEACHER EDUCATION

Folks, Here's the Chancellor's office 'dancing' around CSET. Roberta, for the TE Caucus Deans and Associate Deans, This is to follow my message to you of last Thursday, and to let you know that after consultation with the campus Presidents this morning in Executive Council, the Chancellor has decided NOT to change the policy that requires CSET passage prior to admission as is currently regulated by Executive Order 896 (EO 758 was referenced in error below). After sending out last week's info, I received many messages from campus deans, faculty, and others in support of the current policy, and a few in support of the proposed change. I combined these comments with admission data from most of our campuses and conveyed this information to the Chancellor. After discussing the issue with our Presidents, he decided that the numbers involved do not support our lowering CSU admission requirements in this way. Three things (at least) follow from this issue: First, if your campus is not currently applying your exceptional admit option to candidates who do not qualify for admission due to non-passage of CSET, you need to consider doing so. EO 758 states that this option applies to all admission requirements for candidates with "compensating strengths" in other areas. I've enclosed the link to EO 758 in case you'd like to review the passage--it is I.D., p.4 http://www.calstate.edu/eo/EO-758.pdf Second, I would like each campus to begin a system of tracking applicants who are denied for various reasons--specifically for non-passage of CSET, but for other criteria as well. Some campuses were able to easily respond to my request for this information, while others could not provide this data at all. I think this is information that we need to track, as I expect this issue will come back--and for other reasons as well. Perhaps campuses who have a good record system in this regard could share their processes with others. Finally, of course the part we can't quantify is how many candidates never apply to the CSU because of this higher standard. Some campuses report a sense of this, from monitoring student response in orientation sessions, for example. More than one campus reported that this standard enhances the CSU reputation among both students and local districts, who respect the higher standard and concern for student resources. Please consider options that might help us to get a sense of those who might not apply because of this option, and how this impacts your program. In his comments about this to the Presidents, the Chancellor acknowledged the leadership of the Education Deans in both recommending and supporting this important policy for teacher credentialing in the CSU. Thank you again for your work! Beverly Dr. Beverly L. Young Assistant Vice Chancellor California State University System 401 Golden Shore Long Beach, CA 90808 (562) 951-4747 Byoung@calstate.edu

RESOURCES FOR TEACHER EDUCATION

SUBTRACTION   According to the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, 129,054 people took the California Basic Educational Skills Test in 2001-02. In 2003-04, that number dropped to 84,048.   Fewer Californians are enrolling in college programs to prepare themselves for school-teaching careers, which means fewer qualified teachers will be available statewide if the trend persists, experts said.   According to the latest report card from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, enrollment in teacher-education programs at public and private universities throughout the state was down for the second consecutive year in 2003-04.

Progressive Democrats of America web site http://pdamerica.org/policy/edu/resources.php

Subject: NCLB summary Harold Berlak Date: Tue, 10 Feb 2004 14:23:21 -0800 To Learn More Click here

Standardized tests, government regulations suffocating public education cirriculum Harold Berlak To Learn More Click Here

No Child Left Web Site & Journal Press Release - February 3, 2003. From Jamie McKenzie. FNO Press announced the launch of a new Web site and educational journal at <http://nochildleft.com>http://nochildleft.com that is dedicated to the repeal or the drastic amendment of the education law passed by the Bush Administration and Congress last year. To Learn More Click Here

No Child Left behind Leaves Out Healthy Schools To Learn More Click Here

California Commission on Teacher Credentialing E-News January 12, 2004 Subject: Clarification of Authorizations to Teach English Learners To Learn More Click Here

California Commission on Teacher Credentialing Providing you with up-to-date information on the Commission's policies and actions August 2003 CCTC E NEWS Click Here

Teachers Education Quarterly Winter 2003 Click Here (articles posted with permission)

Table of Contents

Editor's Introduction: In Response to Increasing State and National Control over the Teacher Education Profession Thomas Nelson Click Here (pdf)

Three Themes on Standards in Teacher Education: Legislative Expediency, the Role of External Review, and Test Bias in the Assessment of Pedagogical Knowledge Kip Tellez Click Here (pdf)

Reform and Control: An Analysis of SB 2042 Christine Sleeter Click Here (pdf)

Can Communities of Resistance and Transformation Be Born from the Social Context of School? Rich Gibson Click Here (pdf)

Challenges to Academic Freedom: California Teacher Educators Mobilize to Resist State– Mandated Control of the Curriculum. Roberta Ahlquist Click Here (pdf)

Academic Freedom, Institutional Integrity, and Teacher Education Jack L. Nelson Click Here (pdf)

Moving Closer to Speaking the Unspeakable: White Teachers Talking about Race Jocelyn A. Glazier Click Here (pdf)

Increasing Preservice Teachers' Capacity for Technology Integration through the Use of Electronic Models Peggy A. Ertmer, Deborah Conklin, Judith Lewandowski, Elizabeth Osika, Margaret Selo, & Eric Wignall Click Here (pdf)

The utility of Case Study Methodology in Mathematics Teacher Preparation Azita Manouchehri & Mary C. Enderson Click Here (pdf)

Building a Community of Learners: Manhattan College Elementary Education Program Judith Evans & Karen Nicholson Click Here (pdf)

Web Sites: Testing and Assessment The following are maintained at least weekly or monthly The National Center for Fair & Open Testing (FairTest) works to end the misuses and flaws of standardized testing and to ensure that evaluation of students, teachers and schools is fair, open, valid and educationally beneficial. http://www.Fairtest.org Susan Ohanian’s huge and useful collection of stuff, news stories, commentary, http://susanohanian.org/ Critical and dependable independent analyses of research and policy documents, http://nochildleft.com Rethinking Schools, an independent, progressive quarterly periodical : www.rethinkingschools.org Harvard Civil Rights Project: http://www.law.harvard.edu/civilrights/ Education Policy Research Unit, (EPRU ) Arizona State Univ. Independent analyses of research and policy documents in areas such as student performance standards, assessment, and curriculum. EPRU disseminates its reports, analyses and other documents to policy makers, educators and the public. http://www.educationanalysis.org/ Applied Research Center: Progressive, dependable, focus on race and public policy including testing www.arc.org NCLBgrassroots.org, a website tracking news articles from every state on the No Child Left Behind Act and monitoring how communities are faring under the law. http://nclbgrassroots.org/ National Council of Teachers of English www.ncte.org Designs for Change is a educational research and reform organization. Mission is to serve as a catalyst for major improvements in the public schools serving the 50 largest cities in the country, with emphasis on Chicago. http://www.designsforchange.org/ National Education Association’s (NEA) updates on the national lawsuit, also a useful tool for sending letters to Bush and Congress http://www.nea.org/lawsuit/index.html The Florida Coalition for Assessment Reform, Inc. has a web site that's updated weekly. Their work isn't national in scope, but includes a weekly newsletter and archives of F-TREND, Florida Test Reform Email News Digest, now in its third volume. http://www.fcar.info/ http://www.RougeForum.org/, includes articles on public policy from a left perspective including testing. Also Rich Gibson's Education Page For a Democratic Society has extensive resources on California ’s tests, the Michigan MEAP, and testing in general http://www.pipeline.com/~rgibson/