Meritorious New Teacher Candidate Monday, August 2, 2004 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Invitational Meeting of The Education and Policy Leadership Center

Mid-Atlantic Regional Teachers Project (MARTP) Delaware District of Columbia Maryland New Jersey Pennsylvania Virginia

MARTP History Founded in 1998 by the Laboratory for Student Success (LSS), the Maryland State Department of Education, and the Council for Basic Education. Managed by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE). Funded by grants from LSS, MSDE, the Heinz Foundation, and the Education Commission of the States.

MARTP Goals License reciprocity Teacher mentoring programs Common standards for alternate certification Pension portability Regional designation for “Meritorious New Teachers”

Goals for the Meritorious New Teacher Candidate Designation: Attract best and brightest into teaching. Enable regional reciprocity. Encourage excellence in preparation. Enhance the teacher supply in Mid- Atlantic. Reduce attrition of academically talented new teachers.

Characteristics of the MNTC It exceeds basic licensure requirements of each state. It is an optional credential. It requires excellent performance across multiple domains. It includes fast-track response and, when granted, full regional reciprocity for the duration of the license.

MNTC Designation available at three levels, but only in those areas for which there is a Praxis II content test. Elementary – core subjects Middle School – content area High School – content area MNTC Designations

MNTC Criteria 1 – Performance in the Professional Education Program 2 – Evidence of Content Knowledge 3 – Evidence of Verbal Skills

1 st Criterion - Performance in the Professional Education Program RATIONALE: Those who have high expectations for all students and have engaged in well- designed and supervised field experiences are more likely to improve student learning.

1st Criterion - Performance in the Professional Education Program Candidates must: Achieve a minimum 3.5 GPA in undergraduate professional studies program, or 3.7 GPA in a graduate program. Complete a minimum 400 hours of supervised clinical experience, of which at least 300 hours are directed instructional student teaching.

Performance in the Professional Education Program, continued Meet highest standard of both university supervisor and cooperating teacher. Receive a recommendation by the college or school of education.

2 nd Criterion - Content Knowledge RATIONALE: Teachers who have a high level of mastery of their subject matter (especially science and mathematics) are most likely to succeed in improving student learning.

2 nd Criterion - Content Knowledge MNTC in Elementary Education (Pre-K – 6) Scores in upper quartile in math, science, social studies and ELA in the Praxis II Content Knowledge for Elementary Teachers test. MNTC in Middle School Education (6 or 7 – 9) Scores in upper quartile in the Praxis II content test in his or her specialty area. Has academic major or minor in the subject area, with minimum GPA of 3.5 in those courses.

Content Knowledge, continued MNTC in Secondary Education (9-12) Scores in upper quartile in the Praxis II content test in his or her specialty area. Has academic major in the subject area he or she will teach, with a minimum 3.5 GPA in those courses.

3 rd Criterion - Verbal Skills RATIONALE: Numerous studies of highly effective teachers have found a strong positive correlation between their effectiveness and their verbal skills.

3 rd Criterion - Verbal Skills Score in the upper quartile of students nationally on the verbal portion of the SAT, ACT or GRE.

MNTC Process – Issues MARTP will address Application made by graduate and program. No onerous work for state departments. States expedite licensing. Qualified teachers granted full regional reciprocity. Designation valid for duration of the license. Available for new entrants in pilot states in fall ’04 – not retro-active.

INCENTIVES 1. Exceeds “highly qualified teacher.” 2. Promotes quick certification processing and hiring. 3. Promotes regional mobility. 4. Expands teacher pool nationwide. 5. Maintains regional reciprocity privilege.

IMPLICATIONS 1. Encourage teacher preparation programs to strive for excellence. 2. Enhance the teacher supply in the Mid-Atlantic region. 3. Enhance educational equity by providing a mechanism to draw these teachers to low-performing, high- poverty schools.

IMPLEMENTATION 1. State education leaders authorize and endorse the MNTC. 2. Inform teacher ed programs & candidates. 3. Inform districts & schools. 4. Launch pilot in Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia – Spring Plan media campaign for full launch.

Contact Information For more information on the MNTC and other MARTP projects, visit: Diana Rigden, Director Mid-Atlantic Regional Teachers Project (MARTP) American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education 1307 New York Avenue NW, Suite 300 Washington, DC ; fax: ;