Dr. Roberta R. Schaefer
Governor Paul Cellucci recently called for the testing of mathematics
teachers because of the extremely poor math performance from the
8th and 10th grade students on the Massachusetts Comprehensive
Assessment System (MCAS). In 1999, 40 percent of all 8th graders
and 53 percent of all 10th graders failed the math portion of
MCAS. Beginning with the class of 2003,
students who fail the math or English language arts test will
not be eligible to receive a high school diploma. The governor's
latest request was a modification of his 1999 proposed legislation
that all currently employed public school teachers be required
to pass a test in basic literacy and communication skills and
one in the subject they teach in order to continue teaching. I
believe that there is justification for administering a subject
matter test (which can also be used to judge the literacy and
communications skills of the teacher) as a component of the recertification
process.
Many contend that the mere suggestion of administering such a
test to those who have been teaching many years amounts to "teacher
bashing." In other words, the proposal wrongly impugns the
trustworthiness, reputation, and competence of public school teachers.
It has further been questioned why teachers should be singled
out to take such a test for recertification when none is required
for other professions.
I believe that there is a persuasive answer to these objections.
If doctors, lawyers, or accountants fail to keep up with developments
in their fields or are otherwise incompetent, they won't get patients
or clients, and they are always subject to dismissal for incompetence.
Massachusetts' public school teachers, however, are granted tenure,
usually after three years of teaching in the same school. When
tenure is coupled with union protections, it becomes almost impossible
to remove them. (A recent successful attempt to dismiss a teacher
cost the Worcester Public Schools about $100,000 in direct and
indirect costs.)
At the college level, the practice of awarding tenure has some
merit if we want to ensure that diverse points of view are presented
without penalty. But college teachers normally cannot be awarded
tenure without six years of full-time service. And college teaching
typically requires the completion of a doctorate in one's field,
which is a more demanding educational program than
the requirements for certification in public school teaching.
Since the case for awarding tenure to public school teachers after
only three years of service is considerably less obvious than
the case for tenure at the college level, public school tenure
deserves to be regarded as an important "fringe benefit"
not commonly available in other professions. To prevent the abuse
of this fringe benefit, a recertification test may be essential.
Stephen Gorrie, the president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association,
disagrees. At a Board of Education meeting, he argued that a teacher's
competence in terms of literacy and subject matter should be judged
through performance evaluations, not through a test. He denied
that a recertification test should be required, even if a teacher's
students have consistently underperformed over a period of several
years. Mr. Gorrie argued that an appropriate professional development
program would remedy the problem of inadequate teacher performance.
Yet in most school districts, the principal and superintendent
presently are denied the authority to prescribe specific courses
that a teacher should take. However, proposed changes in recertification
regulations will grant principals authority to approve a teacher's
professional development plan.
In brief, the purpose of a subject matter test is to determine
whether a teacher has, in fact, kept up with his or her subject
matter. Given the unacceptable failure rates on the math test,
we owe it to our students to find out why.
Dr. Roberta R. Schaefer is the executive director for the Worcester
Municipal Research Bureau, and has taught for many years in the
Political Science Department at Assumption College. She holds
an M.A. and Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of
Chicago.