As you probably know, the Minnesota legislature is being asked to make some critical decisions about who will be allowed to teach Minnesota’s children.  Recognizing that the Board of Teaching is also concerned about this issue, I want to share some important research about the effectiveness of teachers who complete programs such as those that are currently approved by this Board.

•    Students of certified first-year teachers, those who have been through formal teacher education, achieve at higher rates than those of under-prepared teachers, those who are emergency-certified, or Teach for America teachers (Lazko-Kerr & Berliner, 2002).  
•    On PRAXIS II tests of subject matter knowledge, those who completed a teacher education program scored higher than those who were pursuing degrees outside of teacher education.  Candidates eligible to teach (successful in passing the PRAXIS I and being admitted to teacher education) have higher mean SAT scores than other college bound seniors (ETS).
•    There is a positive and significant effect of teachers’ formal preparation for teaching on supervisors’ ratings and student learning (Evertson, Hawley, & Zlotnik, 1985; Denton & Lacina, 1984; Ferguson & Womack, 1993).  

Thank you for maintaining high and consistent standards for all teachers in Minnesota.

Linda Distad
College of St. Catherine