A Think Twice Review of:

Proposed 2015 Federal Teacher Preparation Regulations

Think Twice - Jan 12, 2015

Publisher/Think Tank -

Author(s) -

The U.S. Department of Education has released proposed Teacher Preparation Regulations under Title II of the Higher Education Act with a call for public comments through the Federal Register. The comment period closes February 2. The Department of Education claims that the proposed regulations will help ensure teacher-training programs are better preparing educators to succeed in the classroom by requiring states to measure outcomes of how graduates are doing in the classroom. The proposal would require states to assess and rate every teacher preparation program every year with four Performance Assessment Levels (exceptional, effective, at-risk, and low-performing), and states would be required to provide technical assistance to “low-performing” programs. Additionally, programs that do not show improvement could lose state approval, state funding, and federal student financial aid.

Reviewer(s) - Kevin K. Kumashiro, University of San Francisco

An academic review of the proposed regulations considers the evidentiary support and identifies concerns. In his review Kevin Kumashiro has identified seven concerns with the proposed regulations. The proposed regulations: (1) will likely burden institutions with costs that are higher than estimated; (2) inaccurately conceptualize the impact and preparedness of teachers apart from systems; (3) mandate an improperly narrow definition of teacher classroom readiness; (4) require a reliance on scientifically discredited test-based accountability and value-added measures for data analysis; (5) disincentivize teachers to work in high-needs schools; (6) could restrict federal funding for students in financial need, and restrict access to the teaching profession for underrepresented groups; and (7) create a narrow view of the purposes of education.