Bogus think tank at it again

The Associated Press is all over a new report from the National Council on Teacher Quality claiming that the states "are holding tight to policies that protect incompetent teachers and poor training programs..."

Despite its fancy name, the NCTQ is little more than a right-wing think tank aimed at discrediting public education. EdLog has called out the council for its inaccurate screeds in the past.

In this case, the council again harps on one of its favorite bugbears, teacher tenure, claiming that tenure is awarded "automatically." Teachers know better, but this kind of tripe often works on an easily swayed public.

In an article released last March, LFT President Steve Monaghan blasted the NCTQ for misrepresenting teacher tenure in Louisiana:

In the words of the (NCTQ) report, "Louisiana's probationary period
for new teachers is just three years and the state does not require any
meaningful process to evaluate cumulative effectiveness in the classroom before
teachers are awarded tenure."

“That is just as false as saying a student automatically earns a
college degree after four years,” Monaghan said. “The tenure process is a
rigorous one. Teachers must first pass a national exam, earn certification, and
undergo years of mentoring and evaluation by local administrators.”

Before a teacher earns tenure, Monaghan said, it is easy for
administrators dismiss those who fail to meet expectations.