Texas shouldn’t lower its standards for teachers to address the shortage
By Rob DeHaas, Dallas Morning News
The teaching profession across the country is at a crossroads: Do we reduce barriers to entry in response to the teacher shortage? Or do we respond to this moment in time with a dedication to provide students with more qualified, better prepared new teachers to help students recover from the years-long pandemic?
As the vice provost of school of education at Dallas College, I consider the choice to be clear: Students need great educators more than ever before. As adults, it’s our job to make that happen.
I’ve been an educator for years now, first as a classroom teacher, then as a school leader and co-founder of an educator prep residency program, and now the head of Texas’ first teacher apprenticeship program of its kind. Through all of these experiences, I have personally witnessed the gaps in teacher preparation that have not evolved to meet the needs of today’s students. Starting this fall, Dallas College plans to make strides to reverse this trend.
Our new teacher apprenticeship program will allow hundreds of future teachers, many of whom are economically disadvantaged or students of color, to benefit from rich, career-embedded learning opportunities while earning $30,000 for a year-long residency. In partnership with local school systems, Dallas College plans to place candidates on high-need campuses and provide them direct coaching and training to hone their craft.
Teacher candidate preparation is critical to a future teacher’s success. Just as medical students spend time shadowing career professionals prior to certification, educators should have hands-on experience that prepares them for real-life classrooms. The earlier a teacher candidate is exposed to quality teaching and robust field experiences, the stronger that teacher’s chances can be for future classroom success.
Unfortunately, this kind of in-the-field experience is often lacking from teacher preparation programs. And that has implications for the students these candidates ultimately serve. In 2021, 38% of Texas students met the grade level standard for third grade reading, according to the Texas Education Agency, while 96% of new teachers passed the current multiple-choice certification assessment on their second attempt. Our teacher candidates are passing, but our students are not.
Texas has the opportunity to adopt a new certification standard for teacher candidates, one that asks future teachers to objectively demonstrate their teaching skills through lesson planning, assessment creation, video evidence, and deep reflection on their own practice, rather than to complete a multiple-choice test. North Carolina adopted this more comprehensive certification exam called edTPA, formerly known as Teacher Performance Assessment, an exam developed by Stanford University and administered by Pearson Education Inc. University of North Carolina researchers found that candidate scores “significantly predict first-year teacher performance.”
Adopting edTPA will also prompt prep programs, including Dallas College’s School of Education, to deliberately reflect on coursework for candidates and make any necessary adjustments. This legwork should be seen as an advantage, not a hurdle: We will be given the opportunity to break away from seemingly endless urgent needs and ensure our programs are meeting expectations for candidates — and ultimately students.
Texas doesn’t need to sacrifice its commitment to quality teacher preparation to address staffing shortages that existed well before the pandemic. In fact, adopting edTPA can better prepare candidates to stay, and thrive, in the teaching profession. Our students deserve nothing less.
Rob DeHaas is vice provost of the Dallas College School of Education, founding dean of the Early Childhood Education Baccalaureate Institute, and co-founder of the Dallas Teacher Residency. He wrote this column for The Dallas Morning News.