The Louisiana Board of Regents recently completed a yearlong pilot study that has the potential to shake up the way the state rates its teacher training programs. According to the Baton Rouge Advocate, the study, which looked at the connection between student performance on both the Louisiana Education Assessment Program (LEAP) and the Iowa Test of Basic Skills and the preparation programs of their teachers, found that while "students with experienced teachers scored 10 or 15 points higher on the English portion of the LEAP than those taught by new teachers from two universities . . . students taught by new teachers from a third university scored five points higher than the veteran teacher on the math part of LEAP." Officials with the state Board of Regents suggest that "pinpointing teacher preparation methods in that third school could pave the way for similar success stories elsewhere" and are looking at the possibility of using the program to rate the state's 19 public and private teacher training programs. It's early days still and there are no details about how the evaluation might proceed, but critics are already braying in opposition. Jayne Fleener, dean of the Louisiana State University college of education called the idea "very controversial" and suggested that the plan could lead schools to discourage their students from teaching in low-performing districts.
"La. may be first to draw link," by Will Sentell, Baton Rouge Advocate, August 26, 2004