Just how important is it that students be taught by state certified teachers? The education establishment generally contends that certification is the best insurance we have of competence and gets all hot and bothered when outsiders suggest that it’s a big waste.
Well, the educrats are going to get very hot and bothered over this. Two economists with the prestigious National Bureau for Economic Research have just published a paper in which they conclude that certification drives up teacher pay by 3 to 5%, but does nothing to raise or guarantee quality.
The fact is that uncertified teachers are often much better than the certified ones who have been processed through the mental decompression chamber of “education school.” Even some public school principals will say that they’d much rather hire a non-certified teacher whenever possible because they don’t have to be retrained out of all the foolishness taught in ed school — letting kids “construct their own knowledge” and all that.
