Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 112 Part 2.djvu/748

 112 STAT. 1632 PUBLIC LAW 105-244 —OCT. 7, 1998 shall broadly disseminate information r^arding such practices that were found to be ineffective. 20 USC 1027. "SEC. 207. ACCOUNTABILITY FOR PROGRAMS THAT PREPARE TEACH- ERS. Deadline. "(a) DEVELOPMENT OF DEFINITIONS AND REPORTING METHODS.— Within 9 months of the date of enactment of the Higher Education Amendments of 1998, the Commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, in consultation with States and institutions of higher education, shall develop key definitions for terms^ and uniform reporting methods (including the key definitions for the consistent reporting of pass rates), related to the performance of elementary school and secondary school teacher preparation programs. "(b) STATE REPORT CARD ON THE QUAUTY OF TEACHER PREPARATION. —Each State that receives funds under this Act shall provide to the Secretary, within 2 years of the date of enactment of the Higher Education Amendments of 1998, and annually thereafter, in a uniform and comprehensible manner that conforms with the definitions and methods established in subsection (a), a State report card on the quality of teacher preparation in the State, which shall include at least the following: "(1) A description of the teacher certification and licensure assessments, and any other certification and licensure requirements, used by the State. "(2) The standards and criteria that prospective teachers must meet in order to attain initial teacher certification or licensure and to be certified or licensed to teach particular subjects or in particular grades within the State. "(3) A description of the extent to which the assessments and requirements described in paragraph (1) are aligned with the State's standards and assessments for students. "(4) The percentage of teaching candidates who passed each of the assessments used by the State for teacher certification and licensure, and the passing score on each assessment that determines whether a candidate has passed that assessment. "(5) The percentage of teaching candidates who passed each of the assessments used by the State for teacher certification and licensure, disaggregated and ranked, by the teacher preparation program in that State from which the teacher candidate received the candidate's most recent degree, which shall be made available widely and publicly. "(6) Information on the extent to which teachers in the State are given waivers of State certification or licensure requirements, including the proportion of such teachers distributed across high- and low-poverty school districts and across subject areas. "(7) A description of each State's alternative routes to teacher certification, if any, and the percentage of teachers certified through alternative certification routes who pass State teacher certification or licensure assessments. "(8) For each State, a description of proposed criteria for assessing the performance of teacher preparation programs within institutions of higher education in the State, including indicators of teacher can^date knowledge and skills.

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