A Recap of the State Board Of Education's
January 2007 Work Session

State Board to Officially Change Quality Teaching Standards

How educators are formally prepared to teach in Alabama’s classrooms is likely to change in March, when the state Board of Education is expected to vote on new Alabama Quality Teaching Standards.

The Governor’s Commission on Quality Teaching has recommended the five standards discussed at the board’s K-12 work session Thursday. The standards emphasize content knowledge, teaching and learning, literacy, diversity and professionalism.

The standards seek to increase and improve student learning and achievement and guide the professional conduct of Alabama’s public school teachers. If adopted, the new standards would replace the existing Standards for Professional Studies component of Class B teacher education programs.

Also on Thursday, Deputy State Superintendent Dr. Eddie Johnson announced Alabama ranks 14th in the nation based on its number of nationally certified teachers. There are 1,129 teachers with the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certification in Alabama.

Committee reports on the English language arts and the driver and traffic safety education state courses of study were presented to the board at the work session. The English language literacy framework included five interrelated strands: reading, literature, writing and language, research and inquiry, and oral and visual communication. The content standards define what skills and knowledge students should have once they have completed a course or grade.

The committee’s report included student checklists by grade, an example meant to guide local systems in developing reading lists and a guide for schools on the amount of instructional time and type of homework to consider to increase English language proficiency.

The driver and traffic safety education committee report included similar guidelines and suggestions for schools to teach safe and responsible driving. The course of study focused on the required minimum 30 hours of instruction, or classroom phase, and the supervised driving experience students receive in the behind-the-wheel phase.

Recommended appointments to the 2007-08 state Reading/Literature and Driver and Traffic Safety Education Textbook Committee were shared with the state board. The diverse group will serve from May 1, 2007, until April 30, 2008, to suggest texts in line with the state’s courses of study in these subject areas. The board is expected to appoint the committee at its Feb. 8 K-12 meeting in Montgomery

—Denise L. Berkhalter