WHY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SHOULD BE EVERYONE'S PRIORITY

National Commission on Teaching

Points raised during the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future National Conference, August 1998, in Atlanta, Georgia include:

1. Teacher competency and student achievement are directly linked. Teacher competency is being seen as the prime factor in improving student achievement and school performance.
2. Studies are showing that dropouts are linked to ineffective teaching.
3. Teacher professional development gives the biggest return on investment and yet is routinely cut in local board and state budgets when funding issues arise.
4. Ineffective teachers lower scores of their students. Ineffective teachers lower morale at their schools. Ineffective teachers lower the professionalism of teaching.
5. With all the school reforms and accountability measures of the past decade, it is now understood and articulated that without competent teachers in the classrooms, these reforms will not work.
6. Equity is a major issue. Minorities are overwhelmingly assigned the least qualified and least effective teachers. It is no wonder why so many minorities fail in school.
7. Teacher quality and standards vary widely from state to state.
8. Many states do not know and are not able to guarantee that teachers can deliver what students need.
9. Colleges have lagged behind, in many cases, in addressing the problems.
10. Teacher quality has risen over the past decade.

The Commission's summary report, What Matters Most: Teaching for America's Future, recommended five major interlocking changes:

• Get serious about standards, for both students and teachers.
• Reinvent teacher preparation and professional development.
• Overhaul teacher recruitment and put qualified teachers in every classroom.
• Encourage and reward teaching knowledge and skill.
• Create schools that are organized for student and teacher success.

Taken together, these steps can make the crucial difference in improving learning in our schools.