FULL SPEED ON TEACHER TESTING
TEACHERS' UNIONS finally have realized that the public demands tough tests for new teachers.
Futrell So the unions -- first the American Federation of Teachers and now the National Education Association -- have endorsed rigorous tests for those who wish to become teachers.
The welcome endorsements remove roadblocks to toughening existing tests and to requiring them for all prospective teachers in all states.
The NEA's action came at the national convention of the 1.7 million-member union after President Mary Hatwood Futrell urged "the toughest possible" certification requirements for new teachers.
Earlier this year the rival AFT proposed creation of a rigorous national test for teachers after its president, Albert Shanker, said that most existing teacher-licensing tests are so weak that they're "a joke."
So the teachers' unions are moving refreshingly in the right direction. The NEA even voted for the first time to support dismissal proceedings against incompetent teachers, although NEA delegates correctly said such teachers should be given a fair chance to improve and should be guaranteed due process.
While it is unfair to blame teachers for all the ills of America's public education, surely the incompetent ones must bear part of the responsibility. If strong tests can screen out the obviously incompetent before they begin teaching, and if dismissal can remove at least some of those who later prove to be incompetent, then the corps of teachers will improve and so will the education received by students.
A written test for prospective teachers shouldn't be the only criterion for licensing. The AFT has suggested a supervised internship of one to three years, during which the new teacher could demonstrate his ability -- or fail to do so.
These commendable suggestions, proposals and ideas for upgrading teachers should be put into effect, and while that could take some time and isn't a sure bet, the effort must move forward. To do less would be to continue to cheat America's school children.