| Why do American children often lag behind | | compares the training universe to the Wild |
| their counterparts in Europe and elsewhere | | West, with an “unruly” mix of _18_ |
| on learning tests? Perhaps part of the | | because there is no consensus on issues as |
| answer can be gleaned from shocking | | basic as what and how long future teachers |
| statistics about U.S. teacher training in a | | should study; whether they should |
| report this week from the Education | | concentrate on methodology or mastering |
| Schools Project. According to the report, | | subject matter; or whether their focus |
| “Educating School Teachers”, threequarters | | should be on academics or classroom |
| of America’s 1,206 university-level | | experience. Compare that chaos to |
| schools of education don’t have the capacity | | professions such as law or medicine, where, |
| to produce excellent teachers. _14_, half of |
| Mr Levine reminds us, nobody is unleashed |
| teachers are educated in programs with the | | on the public without meeting universally |
| lowest admission standards (often 100% | | acknowledged standards of knowledge and |
| acceptance rates) and “the least | | skills. |
| accomplished professors.” When the school | | Mr Levine also outlines many _19_ . |
| principals were asked to rate the skills of | | Some seem obvious: more in-classroom |
| new teachers, only 40% on average thought | | training, for instance. Some are not very |
| education schools were doing even a | | realistic: The report notes that one way to |
| moderately good job. | | attract the best and the brightest to |
| Schools of education in the U.S. have | | teaching would be to pay them the same |
| been _15_ before. Yet the latest report |
| salaries as other professionals - although it |
| card is significant for two reasons. First, it | | helpfully mentions less expensive |
| is based on broad and methodical research, | | incentives. The report also suggests closing |
| including surveys of principals, deans, staff | | some of the many failing teacher programs |
| and graduates of education schools, plus | | that operate as “cash cows” for universities, |
| case studies of 28 institutions. So the | | admitting almost anybody for the sake of |
| results of these inquiries, i.e. the basic | | tuition dollars. |
| findings about glaring flaws and gaps in the | | _20_ , there’s one idea that seems more |
| teacher-training system, can’t easily be | | important and urgent than the others. That |
| _16_. | | is the proposal that all U.S. states begin |
| The report from the Education Schools | | collecting information about how much |
| Project comes at a unique time in American | | their school children have learned so that it |
| education. Project director Authur Levine, a | | can be correlated with information about |
| former president of Columbia’s Teacher’s | | how their teachers were trained. Until this |
| College, notes that America faces a national | | root question is explored - what kind of |
| shortage of some 200,000 teachers - at the | | training produces teachers who get the |
| same time when, “to compete in a global | | _21_ their students - Americans will be |
| marketplace, the United States requires the | | holding classes in the dark. |
| most _17_ population in history.” | | |
| Yet the report’s most stunning | | |
| admission is that nobody knows what | | The Wall Street Journal |
| makes a good teacher today. Mr Levine | | |
