Political Quotes

“Madam President, today I am submitting a resolution, with Senators Sullivan and Schatz, calling on the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation, CAEP, to modify one of their accreditation standards that applies to the qualifications for enrollment of teacher candidates. The goal of accreditation agencies is to ensure that the education provided by our Nation's institutions of higher education and their various programs meet appropriate levels of quality. In 2013, CAEP--the only accreditor of teacher preparation programs in the country--revised its accreditation standards. Problematic, however, is Standard 3.2 that would require teacher preparation programs to ensure that each cohort of students enrolled in the program has an average SAT/ACT/GRE score in the top 50 percent from 2016-2017; the top 40 percent from 2018-2019; and the top 33 percent by 2020. I am all for making sure that our Nation's youngsters have the best possible teachers. We need well-trained, culturally competent, intelligent, effective teachers in every classroom in America. But there is no definitive research or data that shows that performance on the SAT, the ACT, or the GRE is an effective indicator that someone will become an excellent teacher. Worse, basing acceptance into a teacher preparation programs on these tests will have a negative impact on young Native Americans and Alaska natives who want to become teachers in their own communities--where they are so desperately needed.…”