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House Education Committee Will Investigate Apparent Attempt to Sabotage Teacher Certification Reform Initiative
House Education Committee Will Investigate Apparent Attempt to Sabotage Teacher Certification Reform Initiative, Boehner Says
Chairman Calls on Education Department to Review Grants to Organization at Center of Firestorm Over Stolen Test
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. House Education & the Workforce Committee Chairman John Boehner (R-OH) today expressed outrage over reports that education reform opponents, using a stolen copy of a confidential test, may have engaged in an unsuccessful attempt to sabotage a federally-funded project aimed at making it easier for states to put a qualified teacher in every public school classroom. Boehner said the committee is prepared to use every means at its disposal, including its subpoena authority, to ensure that the facts surrounding the incident are fully known, and said he hopes the matter will immediately be investigated by the Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Education.
“It’s no secret that the education establishment wants to hang onto the monopoly it holds on teacher certification. But if there was a deliberate act of sabotage against a program supported by the tax dollars of American parents and workers, then a big line has been crossed,” Boehner said. “Millions of disadvantaged children across the country are waiting for the chance to learn from a highly qualified school teacher. An attempt to sabotage this project is an attempt to sabotage their future.”
The organization at the center of the controversy, the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education (AACTE), is itself a recipient of federal education funds, the committee has learned. AACTE several years ago was awarded a five-year U.S. Department of Education grant of approximately $500,000 a year to operate a clearinghouse on teacher preparation.
Boehner said he will ask the Education Department to review the AACTE grant to determine whether the federally-funded AACTE clearinghouse actually served as a clearinghouse for all information on teacher preparation - including whether it provided non-biased information on the American Board, its purposes and its certification process. If AACTE failed to meet this standard, Boehner suggested, it could be a matter for the Department’s Inspector General to examine.
According to press reports in The Washington Post and The Washington Times, the president and chief executive of AACTE may have used a stolen, confidential field test to rally support against the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence, which has a $5 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Education to design an alternative teacher test to certify classroom teachers. The reports allege the confidential exam was circulated in order to rally opposition to the new certification process, which the Bush administration and many education reformers believe is needed to help states put a highly qualified teacher in every classroom, a key requirement of the No Child Left Behind education reform law. As a result of this alleged action, the American Board “has been forced to literally throw out hundreds of test questions representing thousands of hours of hard work by many dedicated and talented individuals,” according to a statement by the American Board’s leaders. It is unclear how the AACTE official acquired the stolen test.
Emphasizing high standards, the American Board offers a new approach to teacher certification that “helps states identify qualified individuals with the skills and commitment to impact student academic achievement.” Founded by Education Leaders Council and the National Council on Teacher Quality, the American Board is recognized as an approved provider of teacher certification in the No Child Left Behind Act.
— John Boehner
House Education Committee Will Investigate Apparent Attempt to Sabotage Teacher Certification Reform Initiative
Committee on Education and the Workforce
June 12, 2003
http://edworkforce.house.gov/press/press108/06jun/teachsabotage061203.htm
INDEX OF OUTRAGES
Pages: 380
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