NCTQ logs some promising changes in teacher policies

The National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) recently released its 2010 State Teacher Policy Yearbook. It includes a page of "primary findings", including:

• The # of states requiring annual evaluations of all teachers rose from 15 in 2009 to 21 in 2010.
• The # of states that required "evidence of student learning [to] be the preponderant criterion in teacher evaluations" leaped from 4 in 2009 to 10 in 2010
• The # of states enacting policies to hold teacher prep programs "accountable based on the academic performance of students taught by their graduates" jumped from one pilot program in Louisiana in 2009 to 14 states in 2010.

However, the NCTQ also found that many states have yet to make significant progress in policies related to teacher preparation, licensure requirements, alternative certification programs, and tenure and dismissal policies.