Reforming National Accreditation in Teacher Education
I must admit that I was taken aback by the conclu­ sion of Richard Manatt, the College Department Edi­ tor, in his article, "What's Wrong with NCATE?" (July, 1992 , pp. 307-312) . After spending over half of the artic le pointing out the positive strides made in the form and redesign of the only national accrediting body in teacher educa­ tion , he recommends that institutions of higher learn­ ing drop out of NCATE. Not seek to improve it . Not work to see that changes which may be needed are instituted . Drop out . Is that reform? Or is it retreat? It occurred to me that I would probably not have read an argument following this logic in a medical (or law) journal : e.g. , the American Medical Association (or American Bar Association) has some controversy over the standards and/or processes by which medical (law) schools should be approved ; they've done some very good things in strengthening an historically weak process, but there are stil l some points of controversy ; ergo, the best thing for medical (law) schools to do is to drop out . The logic escapes me, as it probably would escape those involved in the preparation arm of the so-cal led "mature" professions. Leaders in medical (or legal) education understand that by abandoning their national approval processes, the medical (law) schools become subject , and vulnerable, only to the rules and regula­ tions of the particular states in which they happen to be located and far more at the mercy of the whims and vicissitudes of potentially parochial state legislative or bureaucratic interest . They lose the perspective, sup­ port and potential protection that national accredita­ tion can provide (for a discussion of the detrimental impact of state policy on teacher education in one par­ ticular state, see Warner, 1990a, 1990b) . This piece is offered less as a response to Professor Manatt than as an update to the current state of affairs with NCATE from the perspective of one who has been intimately involved in the governance of the Council since 1981 as a participant-observer in the NCATE redesign . To place that redesign in context, though , it is useful to begin by reviewing the unique aspects of accreditation in the United States; to discuss aspects of the reform effort ; and to report even more recent actions taken as this aspect of reform continues to evolve.
Legislated Limits on Certification Requirements: Lessons from the Texas Experience
The passage of Texas Senate Bill 994 in 1987 limited professional education courses to no more than 18 semester hours for initial certification and eliminated undergraduate degrees in educa tion. The events leading to this policy decision are described, and the implications of this action for other states are considered. It is suggested that, to avoid such action in the future, teacher educators must collaborate on the development and advocacy of a knowledge base for teaching, create coalitions within universities and with the organized teaching profession, insist on strong standards, and provide national leadership for the advancement of teacher education.
Thrombus formation after aortic valvular replacement using Björk-Shiley valve occluding the right coronary orifice.
We describe a patient with unstable angina due to occlusion of the orifice of the right coronary artery by thrombus formation after aortic valvular replacement using a Björk-Shiley valve. After strict anticoagulant treatment, transesophageal echocardiography demonstrated disappearance of the thrombus formation around the orifice of the right coronary artery.