N.J.
Teachers
Before standard applies in 2006,
95% deemed 'highly qualified'
Wednesday, July 27, 2005 • BY JOHN MOONEY •
Star-Ledger Staff
Nine in 10 New Jersey public
schoolteachers last year met the definition of "highly
qualified" under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, more
than a year before the new rules will kick in for all
teachers, according to a state report.
The federal law, among its many
provisions, demands that all teachers by the end of the
2005-06 school year be able to document their mastery of the
subject they teach through their college major, course
credits or other measures.
Yesterday, the state released
school-by-school percentages for every district as of the
fall of 2004, showing 95 percent of teachers reported as
meeting the "highly qualified" requirement and almost 94
percent of all classes taught by "highly qualified"
teachers.
The high marks were not uniform, with
many urban schools and certain fields like special education
seeing percentages down into the 70 percent and 80 percent
range. Forty districts were below 80 percent
overall.
There were also some questions about the
accuracy of the count, with state officials conceding likely
errors in the new reporting and several districts saying
their tallies weren't even close to the state's.
But state and local officials
nevertheless took some pride in New Jersey's near-compliance
with this piece of the controversial federal law that has
led to increased testing and requirements on all public
schools.
"We're pleased with these results," said
state Education Commissioner William Librera. "For us to
have been consistently above 90 percent in just about every
area -- and knowing that figure is only rising -- is a
source of great satisfaction to us."
The state's percentage was slightly above
the national average of about 93 percent of teachers meeting
the federal demands.
The teachers requirement of the 2002 law
has been among its most contested. The law aims to insure
teachers have the knowledge background to teach their
subjects and not just the more traditional teacher
education.
Yet in its early years, the law's
implementation put some seasoned teachers at risk. Hardest
hit were middle school teachers and those in special
education who teach more than one subject and were required
to meet standards in each one.
World language teachers have long been
challenged, too, as schools struggle to meet the state's
requirement of language programs in every school.
But overall, New Jersey has done pretty
well, according to the latest report. A majority of
districts reported virtually all of their classes were
taught by "highly qualified" teachers last year. Of the
state's 600-plus districts overall, more than 200 districts
reported 100 percent of their classes meeting the mark. More
than 350 districts reported 97 percent or more.
Among those with the perfect mark was
East Brunswick High School, where all of its teachers last
year met the definition, according to the survey. Principal
Robert Murphy said there were some challenges for veteran
teachers who came into the profession before some of the
subject-area testing and other state requirements that
qualify for the federal rule.
But the district started two years ago
with an aggressive plan to insure each teacher fulfilled the
demands. Murphy said he's glad for that, although pointed
out the federal definition of "highly qualified" is
limited.
"If you have someone who can teach and
also has the knowledge base, the highly qualified definition
makes sense," he said. "But we've also all had college
professors who would be highly qualified but can't get the
material across."
Others agreed the law's label does not
necessarily mean what it says.
"I always think the term 'highly
qualified' is reserved for performance," said Librera. "This
(requirement) is more an indication of whether or not a
teacher has a credential. Qualified, yes. Highly qualified,
I would reserve that for those who also have the
performance."
Even before that debate, however, some
local officials scrambled yesterday to defend their figures
that didn't match the state's. Harding Township was listed
as having 62 percent highly qualified, but Superintendent
Dennis Pallozzi put the figure at 97 percent.
Another Morris district, Boonton,
contested that district's listing at 74 percent. "We do a
very rigorous screening process in terms of certification so
I'm comfortable in my supposition that there's been an error
of some kind," Superintendent Mario Cardinale
said.
The state-run Jersey City schools may
have gotten the biggest black eye, listed at 54 percent of
classes taught by qualified teachers, among the state's very
lowest. But its human resources director said the district's
figure was actually over 90 percent.
"I think it was a reporting error on our
part," said Associate Superintendent Flavio Rubano. "When I
saw this, I knew it can't be right. ... And I knew this will
create a public relations problem."
But Rubano conceded that even at 90
percent, there remains a struggle to find qualified teachers
willing to work in an urban district and to stay there. "As
we squeeze down to those last ones, they have the luxury of
going where they want to go," he said.
Star-Ledger report Bev McCarron contributed to this
article. John Mooney covers education. He may be reached at
jmooney@starledger.com or (973) 392-1548.
© 2005 The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with
permission.
|