Like all things education in Texas, the Teach For America (TFA) program is in danger of losing state funds. Preliminary state education budgets eliminated the $8 million allocated to the program during the last legislative session. The funds were used to provide training for TFA’s math and science teachers as well as those who teach students with limited English proficiency.
In early February, a legislative study showed mixed results in terms of the program’s success with students. State Rep. Scott Hochberg (D-Houston) requested the study in 2009. “This was essentially an earmark for a particular teacher-preparation organization that people believed was good but nobody has measured whether it was cost-effective in Texas,” Hochberg said. The study indicated that TFA teachers appear to help students make bigger gains in math but there are minimal differences between TFA teachers and other novice teachers of English Language Arts.
The study also showed that TFA teachers are much more likely to leave after they complete their two-year commitment. About half of TFA teachers returned for a third year while more than 75 percent of other novice teachers were retained. Principals were generally impressed with the performance of TFA teachers and didn’t mind the turnover as long as more TFA teachers were in the pipeline.
The study itself had critics. Education researcher Ed Fuller said the methods used to measure student test scores cast doubt on the gains shown in the study, therefore policymakers would have a hard time reaching any conclusions about TFA’s effectiveness.
—“Teach for America on Legislatures Drop List,” by Ericka Mellon, Houston Chronicle, Feb. 1, 2011.
The National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) 
plans to review and grade all 1,400 schools of education in the U.S. for the first time and publish the findings in U.S. News and World Report . The purpose of the review is to provide school districts and other education consumers with more information about the training teacher-candidates receive.
The resulting report’s methodology will be based, in large part, on the pilot reviews conducted last year of Illinois and Texas education schools (See “Teacher quality group finds Texas teacher prep programs to be lacking” ). Those pilot reviews drew plenty of criticism from education school deans, and some have balked at participating in the national review. In response to complaints about a lack of transparency in the reviews, NCTQ posted its grading criteria on its Web site and said it planned to supplement its content-based analysis with value-added classroom performance data. Also, NCTQ will not issue failing grades to institutions that don’t provide the requested information as originally planned. Instead, it will give schools an “incomplete” rating and seek the information through other means.
NCTQ President Kate Walsh acknowledged that the review is “…a very emotional issue…But on the other hand, we’re asking folks to put that to the side and recognize what we all recognize, that there are many institutions in the U.S. not preparing teachers adequately, in addition to many doing a great job.”
—“Grading of Teacher Colleges to Be Revamped,” by Stephen Sawchuk, Education Week online, Feb. 9, 2011.
The Brownsburg, Indiana, school district is one of a few in central Indiana that has opted to send students home 30 minutes early one day a week to allow time for teacher training. Because the time allowed for training is part of the school day, the district is able to provide training at no cost.
Each Wednesday afternoon, the district’s teachers will engage in collaborative professional development. They can work with other teachers in their building or team up with educators teaching the same subject in another school.
—“Brownsburg schools to change weekly setup for students,” by Josh Duke, The Indianapolis Star Web site, Jan. 11, 2011.
