"What makes for a good teacher?" (Minneapolis Star Tribune, 02/02/09)

Minnesota's Department of Education sets dozens of standards for teachers, while education experts and authors write hundreds of books and pamphlets on the subject every year. The experts say that's because the job of teaching involves a multiplicity of tasks: talking, planning, measuring learning, fitting teaching to learning styles, working with school administrators and other teachers, and keeping parents informed.

"States failing to develop systems to keep good teachers, fire bad" (Arizona Daily Star, 01/30/09)

tates are not doing what it takes to keep good teachers and remove bad ones, a national study found. Only Iowa and New Mexico require any evidence that public school teachers are effective before granting them tenure, according to the review released Thursday by the National Council on Teacher Quality.

"Debate stirs on what makes 'highly qualified' teacher per NCLB" (Oshkosh Northwestern, 02/02/09)

The federal No Child Left Behind law requires a "highly qualified" teacher for every academic class in public school, and the Oshkosh Area School District boasts 100 percent compliance with the law, which requires every teacher to be certified in his or her subject area.

However, critics of No Child Left Behind say districts are even further away from achieving the federal law's teacher quality goals than the states' own numbers indicate.