Reforming Teacher Preparation and Licensing: What is the Evidence?

Using professional self-regulation in medicine as a model, the National Commission for Teaching and America's Future has proposed sweeping changes in the way teachers are trained and licensed. The commission claims that these reforms are well-grounded in a strong base of research. However, a balanced reading of the literature finds far less support for these reforms than the commission has claimed. In many cases the research is misrepresented. Since the commission's proposals would transfer considerable regulatory power out of the public domain into private education organizations, the burden of proof is on the commission to make a convincing case that such changes promote the welfare of the public and not just the interest of the profession. This burden has not been met.