US government declares no state meets teacher quality standards

From The Education Wonks: the US Department of Education announced last Friday that "none of the 50 states has enough qualified teachers in its public school classrooms to satisfy the mandates of the federal No Child Left Behind Act" (NCLB).

Not a single state will have a highly qualified teacher in every core class this school year as promised by President Bush's education law. Nine states along with the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico face penalties.

The Education Department on Friday ordered every state to explain how it will have 100 percent of its core teachers qualified - belatedly - in the 2006-07 school year....

The 4-year-old No Child Left Behind law says teachers must have a bachelor's degree, a state license and proven competency in every subject they teach by this year. The first federal order of its kind, it applies to teachers of math, history and any other core class.

Click here for the full article from Ben Feller at the Associated Press. And for a twist, have a look at this editorial by education writer Linda Seebach that takes a look at two non-profit organizations trying to evaluate teacher effectiveness and quality -- with wildly differing outcomes (via JoanneJacobs.com, an excellent education blog).