Oregon teachers need tools for success

From the Senate Republican Office:

The national Education Research Center recently released a report giving Oregon an “F” when it comes to preparing and supporting teachers. The new ranking scores Oregon teachers based on their accountability for quality, incentives and allocation, and building and supporting capacity. A grade is assigned based on how that score compares to other states.
“This report card should make Oregon leaders run to the mailbox before parents get a look at the grades,” said Senator Ted Ferrioli. “Last session Senate Republicans championed a number of proposals to bring excellence to Oregon classrooms, like professional standards and resources for teachers or ensuring financial accountability in school districts. Unfortunately, those proposals received little attention from the Democrat majority.”

Oregon’s dismal rating is thanks in large part to a lack of requirements for subject-specific knowledge, formal evaluation, and professional development or mentoring. The majority of states have all or part of these common sense stipulations, but not Oregon.

“We could have initiatives on the ground today that would raise Oregon’s grade from an “F” to “A” if our vision from last session had been acted on,” said Ferrioli. “Instead, Oregon students and teachers are stuck with less than the best. Make no mistake, we will be fighting hard again for professional development in February’s session.”

On the priority list for February’s special session is a requirement to give teachers resources for professional development and set up standards to track progress. On-going, subject specific, research based training is essential to bringing excellence to every classroom in Oregon.

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