Steve Balich Editor note: If the test is too hard lower the standards so more can pass. Teachers who are one of the better paid professions teach our children and should be held to higher standards not lower standards. I do believe that higher pay does not mean better teachers, just look at Chicago. Maybe we should lower the pay and lower the standards since there will then be more people going for the same jobs. Could pay and hiring be based on performance on tests? That would work cause teachers would teach to score high on the test and not critical thinking. What a mess, like everything there is no good answer other than understanding each teacher interacts differently with students. No amount of money or test can determine how well a teacher can teach. Some people are just better at teaching than others because of there inner self or special personality. Finding a method to measure ability to teach is not easy so add that to the mess.
Illinois lawmakers look to change licensing, testing to find more teachers
Krissy Venosdale | Wikimedia via Creative Commons
Illinois lawmakers are looking at two reasons why they say there aren't enough teachers in the state.
There's a lot of focus on testing and licensing for teachers at the Illinois Capitol this year.
Lawmakers are trying to end Illinois' teacher shortage. A recent report found 90 percent of schools have trouble finding a teacher or substitute.
Jason Helfer with the Illinois State Board of Education said they are taking a year to study the issue.
"Our year of study will focus on work teacher workforce issues," Helfer said Wednesday. "Licensure is one part of that, but not the only part. There are three other parts that include pipeline issues. How do we get young people to enter into the field? Teacher preparation, how are they being prepared and so forth? And finally recruitment, hiring and retention once they are in the district."
But lawmakers say they want to know why so many people who want to teach can't pass the state's basic skills test to start a career.
State Rep. Rita Mayfield, D-Waukegan, said about 60 percent of teacher candidates fail the state's basic skills test. At Wednesday's statehouse hearing, she said that's unacceptable.
"A lot of our college kids are unable to pass the test. They're not going into teaching," Mayfield said. "They are like 'You know what, I've given you four years. I've taken this test three times, I can't pass it. You know what. I'm just going to change my major.' We're losing teachers."
Helfer said most prospective teachers in Illinois easily pass the state tests for their subject or specialty, it's the broader basic skills test that they are having problems with.
Helfer said the the state's licensing issues deal mostly with allowing out-of-state teachers to ease into an Illinois classroom without having to jump through additional hoops.
Lawmakers are also proposing their own fixes. There are more than a dozen proposed laws on file this spring that'd deal with the state's teacher shortage in one way or another.
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