The Editor’s Note: Every teacher highly qualified

Abstract

The focus on high-quality teaching, which was promoted in NCLB, should continue in the era of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Federal legislation aside, states, local districts, and universities can take steps to ensure that high-quality teaching still occurs in U.S. classrooms. To begin, the U.S. should develop a system to identify students as early as middle school who have the potential to be teachers. In college, these students should do lots of practice teaching, always under the watchful eye of a master teacher. Every teacher would be required to become a National Board Certified Teacher before they are granted tenure. All teachers should work a full year. In sum, the U.S. should develop a system that does not promote stars but one that ensures every teacher is able to teach to his or her potential and that every teacher delivers the high-quality education that every child deserves.