That question is at the heart of the disagreement over teacher
licensing that resulted in Gov. Easley’s veto of House Bill 706, which
would have eliminated testing requirements for teachers considered
“highly qualified” in other states. A subsequent special legislative
session called by Easley ended with a whimper and yet another
committee, this one tasked with working out a compromise. Lindalyn
Kakadelis joined WBT-AM’s “Charlotte’s Morning News With Al Gardner and
Stacey Simms” to discuss the bill, certification, and the fact that
research shows focusing on traditional inputs such as certification
from the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards and testing of teachers does not
lead to higher student achievement. The data is explained in Terry
Stoops’ Spotlight paper, “The Certification Myth.” His related
op-ed was published in Wednesday’s Charlotte Observer.