American business groups focus on teacher competence

Several groups of America’s most powerful business leaders say that too many teachers enter their profession lacking subject matter knowledge and confidence. The recommendations of the Business Roundtable's Task Force on Education are supported by the National Alliance of Businesses, National Association of Manufacturers and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The task force report, "Investing in Teaching," spotlights the crucial role of trained teachers in improving American education.

The organisations recommended raising to 3.0 the grade point average prospective teachers must have in the first two years of college.

They would eliminate undergraduate "education" majors and have candidates complete an academic major.

All teachers would be required to pass rigorous exams to get their licenses – and those licenses should be portable from state to state.

Salaries would be increased and pay tied to performance as well as accepting additional tasks – such as mentoring – or for accepting difficult assignments.

Some business leaders say they envision outstanding teachers earning as much as $100,000 a year.

Source: Tamara Henry, Business Leaders Want Overhaul of Teaching, USA Today, January 31, 2001.

For study text http://www.brtable.org/document.cfm/479

For more on Teacher Performance http://www.ncpa.org/pi/edu/edu7.html#d

RSA Note:
The American business leaders are concentrating on only one of the problems besetting their country’s education system – inappropriately trained and inadequately qualified teachers. U.S. schooling will improve fundamentally only when it functions as a business – responding to the demands of consumers and being disciplined by them – schools must succeed or fail in response to demand or lack of it. The same reform is needed in South Africa. Business leaders should be the first to identify the problem and its solution.