The "three great teachers in a row" myth
Studies, reports and recommendations about education are a dime a dozen in Washington, but sometimes, one jumps out as being especially smart, or especially not. The latter category is where I’d classify a new series of recommendations just sent to Congress by two Washington think tanks called “Essential Elements of Teacher Policy in ESEA: Effectiveness, Fairness and Evaluation.” [ESEA is the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, better known as No Child Left Behind.] Problems with the recommendations are clear from the first paragraph, which states as fact something about "effective teachers” that is not. Things don't get much better after that. Members of Congress shouldn't be fooled by these recommendations, which were issued by the Education Trust and the Center for American Progress, and which spell out a year-by-year timetable for changing the way states, districts and schools qualify for federal funding relating to the development of quality teachers