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Teachers for Tomorrow.National Education Association, Washington, D.C.Jul 8725p.; Colored photographs may not reproduce well.National Education Association, 1201 16th Street, NW,Washington, DC 20036.Reports - Descriptive (141) -- Viewpoints (120)

MF01 Plus Postage. PC Not Available from EDRS.Educational History; Elementary Secondary Education;Evaluation Methods; Higher Education; *ParticipativeDecision Making; *Preservice Teacher Education;*Professional Development; *Standards; TeacherCharacteristics; *Teacher Evablation; *TeacherSalaries*National Education Association

ABSTRACTThis report looks at the specific steps the National

Education Association (NEA) members feel must be taken to ensure thatthere will be an excellent teacher for every student in everyclassroom in America. The beginning of the NEA in 1857 and some ofthe milestones it has achieved are described. A profile of today'steachers is given. The NEA Agenda for the Teaching Profession isintroduced, and specific proposals are discussid: (1) standards forteacher preparation; (2) standards boards at the state and nationallevel to enable professional self-governance by teachers; (3)development and use of effective evaluation systems for teacherscoupled with opportunities for professional growth; (4) adequatecompensation ,of teachers; and (5) participatory decision-making inschools. References for more information on the NEA agenda areoffered. (MT)

*** * ********* * *************** * ** **** ****Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made

from the original document.*********** **************************** ***********#

Tomorrow

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In oduction

e-_

For the nearly 1.9 million teachers, higher education faculty, andeducation support personnel who belong to the National EducationAssociation, there is no task more important and no challenge moreformidable than guararneeing every American student an excellenteducation.

This ambitious goal, I believe. is today shared by more Americans thanever before. Over recent years, a consensus has emerged across our entitenation, a consensus that education is the key to our nation's future.

Thanks to this growing consensus, we now have an historic opportunity.A system of public education that unleashes the full intellectual potentialof every child is now within teach. And none too soon. We face a futurethat will stretch our nation to the limit and test the will of OUr people.Our public schools need to be more demanding, more sensitive, and moreboldly innowilive than ever before.

What kind of future might unbridled innovation bri.rg into view?Imagine for a moment that our schools were no longer bound by the

"two-by-four-by-six- model of educationthat teachers and studentsalike were freed from the stale standard that traps them between the rwocovers of a textbook, the four walls of a classroom, and the six periods ofthe school day.

Imagine schools where all teachers were the praduct of teacherpreparation programs so rigorous, so thorough, so demanding that everystudent could be guaranteed a quality education.

Imagine an alliance for educational progress among classroom teachers,college faculty, parents the business community civic organizations, andcitizens of every stripe.

Arc all these visions unrealistic? I don't think so. In fact. I believe thesevisions can become our educational futureif wc start creating that futuretoday.

Will we prove adequate to the challenge? A complex vat ety fartonwill determine the answer to that question. But one thing is certainExcellence in education begins with excellence in teaching.

This publication is a guide to the educational future that is indeedpossible, a look at the specific steps NEA members feel must be taken toensure an excellent teacher for every student in every classroom in ournation.

Excellence never comes easy. And excellence on a national scale nevercomes at all without the concentrated and cooperative effort of all urcitizens. I invite you to be part of that effort. Together, we can make adifference.

July 7

Mary liarwood Futrell

Preudent,Njt:onjl Education tissoc,ation

Excellence in Every Classroom . .. . .... . 2Teachers Yesterday ..... ....... ........____ .. _ _ 4Teachers Today ................. ............ . ....... 6Teachers Tomorrow 8The NEA Agenda for the Teaching Profession

Preparation 10Regulation .... . .. . .. ..... .. ........... . . . . ......12Evaluation. .... . .............. ............. .... . . ......... ....Compensation.. . .. . .. . . ... . ... 16Partkipation.............. ............... ...... ..... .... . ....18

To Learn Mor . .......... 20

Excellence inEvery Classroom

The NEAAgendafor theTeachingProftssion

Excellence in education demandsexcellence in teaching.

Ascume that every other elementwithin the learning environment isfust-ratethat textbooks are sub-stantive, resources plentiful, admin-istrative support competent, the cur-culum research-based and finely

honed, class size appropriate.That's a portrait of a school

poised to deliver excellence. Almost.Missing from the picture is a criti-

cal componentthe professionallyprepased, conscientious, caring per-son who ignites within students thedetermination to take full advantageof learning opportunities. who awa-kens and stimulates student poten-tial. Take this person awayotkeaway the qualified teacherand thelearning environment becomes life-less and sterile.

Edocational excellence demandsteachers who arc catalysts, teacherswho energize the learning environ-ment and bring texts to life. Educa-tional excellence demands teacherswho cSn work with- administratorsinside the school setting to develbppilicies that facilitate learningandeducational excellence also demandsteachers who can reach outside thesthool to create a cooperative allianceamong teachers, parenu, and othermembers of the local cominunity.

NEA is working today to ensurethat tomorrow's schools ow count onhaving the excellent teachen Ameri-ca nceds. NEA's goal is simple: a...iching profession in which every

practioner is eminently qualified,never minimally competent.

Can this goal he achieved? Downthrough the years, the members ofNEA have ruccessfully advocated forenormous improvements in theteaching professionand in educa-tion. Their work remains income-plete. Their commitment to excel-lence remains as strong as ever. Andthei perseverence will not wane.

d1:60

NEA Buz: ldsa Pro esszon

Pennsylvania, 1857: Two-thirds ofall teachers are under age 25. Quali.&scions necessary to teadr comple-tion of elementary school. Averageyears of teaching experience barelytops three years. Average length ofschool rat: five months, 13 days.Average salary: $24 per month formales, $16.60 for females.

Pennsylvania represented thenorm in American education. And itwas in Pennsylvania, on August 26,1857, that 43 classroom teachers andhigher education faculty frorn 10different states assembled to createthe organization that was to becomethe National Education Association.The letter of invitation, drafted byThomas W. Wentine, a grammarschool teacher from Brooklyn, calledupon teachers to join a united effort

-yr ay

to "promote the general welfare ofour country" by advancing the dig.nity, respectability, and usefulness ofteaching.

The theme that dominated the1857 meeting was voiced by Massa-chusetts teacher William Russell.Teaching, he insisted, must be aprofession, not a vocation. If stan-dards are to rise, if education is toserve the aeeds of a democratic soci-ety, Russell stated, teachers them-selves must establish and enforcequaliTications for admission to theprofession. To teachers should be-long the authority to determine thestandards aspiring teachers mustmeet.

With that first meeting in Phila.delphia, teachers had begun thelong, slow, often arduous, and al-ways challenging process cf buildinga profession.

Within 13 years, the NEA repre-sented teachers from every state inthe union. Teachers had done forthemselves what no friend, sponsor,or supporter had been able to do forthem. They had established them-selves as a progressive force withinthe life of the republic.

By 1980, more than 12 decadesafter NEA began, 99.6 percent of allpublic school teachers in the UnitedStates held a bachelor's degreeandnearly half held at least one or moreadvanced degrees. Teaching hadgrown as a profession, and the Na-tional Education Association hadboth generated and accelerated thatgrowth.

,11;

eachers o ay

Betterprepared thanever...challenged asnever be ore

Today's teachers represent thebest educated corps of teachers inthe nation's history. And they havewelcomed a challenge that no othernation in the world has dared toaccept: the challenge of educatingevery childregardless of race, eth-nicity, gender, economic status, orhandicapping condition.

For sdl these child/en, today'steachers are working to make goodthe nromise of democracy. And theyate working to prepare young peoplefor a world of unrelenting changeand unforeseen challenges.

Today's teachers understand that.on the average, the students now inschool will change careers five toseven times during their workkiglives. These students need to becomementally agile and intellectually ad-

venturous. Above all, these studentsneed to learn to be learners.

Shifting demographics magnthis challenge. New waves of immi-gration into the United States havebrought into the schools young peo-ple unfamiliar with the languageand =toms of their new country.The traditions and values these stu-dents bring with them will bothenrich American life and strain thecapacity of schools to give each childa meaningful education.

By the turn of the century, mi-norities will constitute one-third ofthe student population in the Unit-ed States. This expanding minoritypopulation will be disproportionatelydisadvantaged. But the burden of

poverty ts notand will notconfmed to the ghettos and bartiosthat scar the American landscape. In1986, more than one-fifth of allAmerican youngsters were pooranincrease of 33 percent since 1979.Millioas of students must face thisburden without the traditional fam-ily structure and tightly knit commu-nities that sustained earlier genera-tions of young people.

Other factors furthcr complicatethe mission of America's schools.Classrooms now include some 2.4million young people disconnectedfrom American societyby drugabuse, child abuse, depression, andpregnancy. Since 1960, substanceabuse has increased 60 fold amongyoung people. During the same peri-od, teenage suicide has risen ,mote

an 150 percent, and teen-age preg-nancy haz increased by more than 70percent.

This complex pattern of socialchange creates new challenges fortoday's teachers. These challengeswill not disappear. More likely theywill intensffyand change in waysthat cannot bc predicted. Will to-morrow's teachers have what it takesto to meet the responsibilities thesechallenges will generate?

Teaders To

Is excellenceinevety classroomoo much

to ex ect?

The United States today faces aserious and significant teacher short.age. That reality is reflected in onestartling fact: nearly all states allowtheir school districts tu hire as teach-ers men and women who have neverbeen professionally prepared toteach, individuals who have neverdemonstrated their ability to meetestablished quality standards. An es-

imated 200,000 classroom teach-ersclose to 10 percent of the teach-ing workforcehold "emergency"teaching certificates.

Individuals who lack professionalpreparation are ill-equipped toreaCh. The untrained, however well-intentioned, lack the skilLs necessaryto effectively meet the intellectualand emotional needs of young peo-ple, especially those who most needhelpthe unmotivated, the learning

disabled, the disillusioned gifted stu-dent. It takes a professionally pre-pared teacher to detect the leainingdisability that frustrates a child'sprogress or to identify a child's spe-cial talent that lies dormant and mayneed only the right encouragementto blossom.

OOKSARE

OUR

FRIENDS

NEA has long maintained thateducational., excellence demands afully prepaied, fully qualified teach-erfor every student, in every class-room. Attaining this goal requiressystematic cooperation among K-12teachers, higher education faculty .

and education researchersand a re-newed commitment from schoolboards and other agencies to enforce

without exception policies that man-date the hiring of only fully trainedteathers.

If policyrnakers work now to forgestrategies that promote the ideal ofequity arm' insist-on the high .stan-dards that forward the cause ofstructional excellence, then the daywill arrive when, ei,ry child has ac-cess to an education that serves aspreparation for productivecitizenship,..

To help reach that day, NEA hasdeveloped an agenda for restructur-ing every major aspect of the teach-mg profession, an agenda outlinedin the pages that follow.

r OI

P.-?:`,i," 1,":01 AC!:At'

iA1C

;birth inWei hrI:it r4ii ro-poi.d

tic-w and un:oyaove way, ft!,, VA-Adirfi tor Ow

demand-, 4 t `,44(iiTly And ailtanging

Throno fustory NEA has

pieftartfion ihatt basic to r:

ogorioP, Adow4v_In !!;.! gradt:4!-i

ffir -Afid jlAilt7:11finf,

b4r expereit(c m dassi-owsAf _,(11);JAAIS i:ZAdiA,-Alliw. hesehasi^ striena sEi.:uld guide allto strengthen the pi-A:at-Joon foi

fit Itjiiiti.5 ot ton-Inflow 1,...,01

tOivt:- tiro bc kir to adapt instructionto the unique nerrk of siodcrmnom widely varying (admits AndNiik,:toct.'onotnic blkkgrounds, To67(liVely RA(11 all these different .stu-dents,, ir.ichrts will need cucrisivcexricrinir in a widt yancry of s.c.boolsettings_ that experietit-e: should be-gin with cla.ssiwtri observation dotmg a prospective teacher's very firstprofessional :,,nurse, ion.tinocthroughout the entire reacher edura-non program. And culminate in a

supervised practicum

LocalMe as reachers only tnose inch-

viduah who Ate fully trained, certi-fied, and licenwd_ Assign (cachets toonly those subjects they have beenluerised to teach.

IA, hc 1:.!A=;g!:":4; w10 A.G) UiCcd n, ilf1,=AAAild Whkilt ilOs U"f_hIliP14ori rrni

ruilAtk-c le4ittittp. A leVriof technological literacy ,4

pfcltfriItt- fO! rivc 1)1,1'; !.1 .17 Inhr s.thotids of tomorrow.

who apply to enICA t

litotri.th-trial programs that will piepay trathets IM the ientoryshPuld he requited to dcmcmstraicsohd rvidcrike of 44

rfil'ipei. Wit ICA( hers should hr ex-pcticil to master A broad librtal au%

, nom speirk t t hey intend to trarh

pf,,titt:131 kniewledge hasjihi-1W Chadieti :CAW

rj( het rdlik :4110h plugrAirr',vo'4 nOW w,U plwipcflINT te'Achtr:kive mastered ihif. writent through

t..Nainitiatiotis and odic: as°,..,75_smrof procedures

TrA(her education institutions, tottheir part. should be expe,-ted todemonstrate their own professionalrigor. Only graduates from schookeducation that (nett the standardsestabhslied by ihr tsiatiooal Councilfor the Accreditation of TcadietEducation (NCATE) should beHe for lir-twin" as teachers. NCATroffets the only national quality con-trol mcchaokin for tcathet educaucniprograrm.

Teachcr5 who have successfullycompleted an NCATE-acctednedprg,tarn +Atli compkred

ieg or their professional

StatcEnact and enforce regulations that

ptohibit the hiring of under-preparedteachers and end the granting of'Ci-liCtgcticy certificates

4C;ii

yr41 :ft theinlerli year), ShoUld fecrive

fesional guidance limn expericuked((At hM who have been prepared tohelp aithmatt and assist beginotogpras

lhe entire rear bet preparationpiocess should endeavor to instill mall riew teachers the one convictionroom ty,rot lid to teaching NI1ACCVA: all

Jrr educable. Any ,("Ni-friCril of aspiring teachers must (An-phAwr !hat good trachrrc bE/xer,

tiartill- and polNess the hard-to-quamity clietiisc that makes !,iW=,1( (ih, believe in themselves.

.'s,haping teacher edit( Aloft pm-gtarns that meet these standards ofexcellemc will require au ongoingpartnership IK-twern cduc;,,,401, 'A III 1k Mr, 127=nroomrex her5,

But also needed is an even broad.Cr partnership betwccu cducatoisarid public officials, Strong systemsof teacher preparation can only hemaintained if public officials insistthat schools provide every classroomA fully prepared teacher, Rigorousstandards at the teacher-training ley-el will do little good if public offi,cials allow unqualified indual5teach for political or financialreasons,

NationalContinue efforts to upgrade and

NIrengthrn the standards for teacherpteparation set fnrth by the NationdCouncil for the Accreditation ofTeacher Education (NCATE) Sus-tain these standards in the face ofany and Ol attempu to dilute them.

Protr!6inna tnantle IS 'XittI;11 ta. 10 any

recognIzed profession. TeachCLs==-flO less than doctors, lawyers,and atchitertsneed to be able toregulate their own profession Mder to assure the public of compe-tent practice.

For reaching to become agoverning profession, teachershave to play 2n active role in clishMg and enforcing standardsthe preparation of leachers.,into the teaching profession,professional practice,

MI5 Wilde ink can and sho Id beinstitutionalized through standardsboards At both the State and nationalkvels. These standards hoards shouldunite teachers, teacher eclocawrs,and public representatives in a joineffort to make teaching an ever moredemanding and accomplished pro-fession, To ensure teachers the Thili

ci t-int

Action Need d

LoealEnfo with no exceptions

policies that prohibit thc taring ofindividuals who have not demon-strated their competence to teach bymeeting state licensure standards.Prohibit the assignment of teachers

courses they have not been pre-pared and licensed to teach.

10.1 'AC

ty to 1osrul their irdes tem IIeh should comprise y titthese standatd!,

The new National Board for Pto-fessional Teaching andards anon-governmemal body developedby fimndation, civic, higher edtica-lion, and teacher leaders working inrow ett has been structured to rec-ognize the importance of self-gover-mance to the future of the teachingptolession. The new board, the firstof Its kind tot the icariting pttile5.sion, will be guided in its de isby a teacher majority.

As a non-govetnmental body,however, the new national boat(' hasno legal power to license teachers orset standards for entry into the pro-fession. Thar power resides At thestate level. FOf this reason. NEA haslong advocated state-by-state regula-tion Of the teaching profession byautonomous professional standardsand practices boatds composed ofteacher majorities. These boards

StateEstablish autonomous state boards

of professional standards and prac-tices that are composed of teachermajorities.

would license !cacherec. ogtli )11 fe

tificates, and approve the content 0readier preparation programs.

NEA ntembci, arc now workingto establish such boards in statesatIOSS the nation Several states havealready established standards boatdsthat enable teachers to more effec-tively govern and improve their pro-lession. In these and other states,teachers are insisting that liCences toteach ,,nly be granted to those indi-viduals who have completed a super-vised (eadting ptacticum, graduatedItorn an accredited teacher ptepara-don program, and passed mamma-

ms and other assessment proce-dures administered or tecognstate standards hoardN,

NationalDevelop, through the National

Board for Professional TeachingStandards, innovative assessment in-struments that can fairly and appro-priately measure teacher skill andknowledge

-

k

13

vaivaAs p

ongoing resp msibihtdate in their teaching cpecialtks andto sharpen and improve ihir peda,gogical skills, And to help meet thisresponsibility, teachersfeedback on theit performance.

All teachers, NEA believes, oughtto be formally evaluated on a regularbasis. Unfortunately, in far too manyschool districts actoss the country,

if finneyg ;,17flt

oducted, or performed by person-nel who haven't been professionallytrained in effective evaluationpractice,

As a result, few evaluattc sys-tcms now in place genuinely helpimprove instioction. Most evaination

ms neither identify and rein-14 force teacher strengths nor pinpoint

and remedy deficiencies.Effective evaluation systems

be put in place. But such systemscannot be imposed on schools byoutside authorities. To be effective.evaluation systems must be jointlydesigned, at the local kvd, by ad-ministrators, teachers, and schoolboatd members. Systems so designedwon't merdy meacure competence--they will promole it.

Ac on Need d

LocalDevelop evaluation systems

provide teachers with comprehen-sive, regular, and meaningful feed.back on their professionalperformance.

dInclivetIC7,!A ihniucvaluaiion nectls Lu he ionsidettil acated.long pmr. Thk processshould begin with the ngorous as-sessment of prospective teachers bystate professional standards hoards.It should continue with support forbeginning machos ftom experiencedcolleagues through a system of colle-gial assistance designed to help thosewho are new to the profession.

This collegial -or pccrassistaoicshouldn't end once teachers aft intotheir careers, Systems flf tollet!ial

stance can also help experit...fedimprove their skills and

nice, their needs for professionalgrowth And development.

Teacher on-the,iob performance,meanwhile, should be evaluated reg-ularly by trained evaluators for mak-ing decisions about teacher job sta-wsdecisions, for instance, abouttenure and termination,

In all cases, evaluation should becoupled with opportunities for pro-fessional development. No teacher isperfect, and even a teacher whoreceives a glowing evaluation oughtto be alerted to areas where improve-ment is possible. Similarly, an indi-vidual who receives a poor evaluationshould be given the encouragementand resources needed to improve,

SuteFacilitate assessment at the local

level by providing the funding andthe time that will enable administra.five personnel to arquire expertise ineffective evaluation ptactice

in ,ninV

wove:int:In tray nut tAkefair and appropriate eva

is in place. A fotnial valo.by a trained evaluatot may

dontmenr continuing incompetence.If an individual should remain sorleficient, even after receiving help.that lividual's employment as

should he terminatedthrough a prctcess that fully u-snects

learning cicnsacitlnum: than individual teacher evahm-

n, Learning, after all, takes placein a school ensitonment,overall environment may cder or facilitate efforts toSchools need to bc evaluate(learning environments because theway a school is organized and sup-ported can decisively affect teacherperformance arni student achieve-ment. Schools that succeed, in short,are die schools that guarantee teach.

the materials, the space, theflexibility, and the time all te-ehersneed to make learning come alive foreach and every student.

NationalSupport research that promotes

ffective and fair evaluation andidentifies the most promising profes-sional development strategies forhelping teachers improve and refinetheir instructional skills.

\

htalyr thr

Orastay ill the

tiger than five years.20 percent leave atfirst year

986 study t oinropolitan Lift

drive

averagefor

AV h

Action Needed

nsure that teacher compensationis commensurate with the compensa-tion of whet professions requiringcomparable skill and preparation.

CIS nonran intone arilung all

ers. not just beg' teachers ac-tually have less real buying powerthan they enjoyed a decade ago.

Low levels of compensation ad-versely affect the quality of educa-

in many different ways. Lowsalaries discourage young men andwomen from entering the teachingprofessionand help createAges or trained teachers. Local schooldistricts too often

solve these shortages by hingiNdiyiduak unprepared to teach.

Low salarits also have an adverse.:ducational impssci on the work ofiLlftent teachers. To support their(.111i111, many teachers are forted totake second, non.teaching jobs on

SratcIncrease fuading assist_ ce to fo-

al school districts. Develop and im-plement strategies to ensure equityamong districts.

wtckenls. These se(and

y for Immix Ian ika -todlimit opponunities to pursu ;or,oetprofessional tducation, In the cod,the ultimate victims of low teachercompensation are students.

The problems eread by inadeTrate compensation will not hesolved by short-tmn jc,Oliative71 Itrnne for a permanent fixfor a

to to make teaching antin, rewarding, Irk-lung pro

JedlloI option in every stare andevery school district.

NationalProvide leadership and resouues

to implement the 1983 recommen-dati-n of A Nation at Rai, thelaniLnark report commissioned bythe U.S. Department of Education:-Salaries for the reaching pmfessionshould be increased and should beprofessionally competitive.

Lech 17

A Agc

ivr Dtgatati0his,poraty management teceatched, ate organizations that actively

olve employees in decision-mak-Employees whose op

sought and welcomed (-valuable information to the dcisorimaking process,

tn schook, of c uurr ptidpatorv-malong is escnttit.

aft constaUtly:,:udenrs and, as a r01.111, know lost-hand what students need to succeed.No dettsion that affects studentsought to be made without the active

d meaningful involvement ofts.

Yet in far many schools,classroom teachers have little say inthe daily decisions fundamental tothe successful practice of their pm-fession. A 1986 national NEA sur-vey, for enstance found that 61

Acton Needed

LoadEstablish the school building as

the fundamental unit of educationtentwal. a step that would helpteachers become better involved inall matters that affect the quality ofastruction.

percent of Aoicriia jrnbrr sel-dorn, never, or icily Ix( asionallyhave the opportunity to participate

school decisions on grading poli-cies and student discipline codes.Evco mote teachers-73 percent,arc not consulted On decisions aboutbow schools plan the use of their

'this kotation ot teadiers under-filincs the collegt lily so (metal toeffective sdlools, Education is not anindividual act performed by individ-ual teachers. Education is a collectivefaculty reponsibility, und it worksbest when schools create workirgcovirooroems that eocourage teacti-en: to interact and share.

To become more effective envi .moments for learning, schools needto seek, not ignore, the informationand professional judgment teacherscan offer. NEA, through a variety ofinitiatives, is now working to devel-op school-based decisino-making

StateReview exist ng educational regu-

lations and rework those that limitthe ability of teachers to exercise thejudgment essential to individualizinginstruction according to studentneeds.

:SS1(

col faculties ;1

dCCIS10115, (hatlearning. The NEA Mastery to

Learning J!r rct for instance, is en-abling over two dozen school build-

g faculties to explore and developinnovative approaches to reorganiz-ing learning at the local level.

Metting the need: of an incfrlingly diverse student body demandsensuring that decisions that alfcristudents' _yes are mask by people atthe front lines of education.

These people are not in schooldistrict central calm or sLue cani.tols or the U,S. Department of Edo.

They ',ire in the nation'sclassrooms. They arc teachers.

NationalProvide leadership and resources

to faciliate pilot decision-makingprojects by faculty at the schoolbuilding level.

19

NEA agenda int thc tc.iching profession is spelled otit in morein a wide variety of Association publications and reports,

Below, a brief list of recent materials that can help }Du understand dudirection in which NEA believes the teaching profession needs to be nmving.

An Open Lem. America on Schools, Students, and Thrnorrow .

Published in 1984, this report offers a vision of education to guide Ac3ericainto the 215t centmi

Excellence in Our Schools: Teacher Educa io Actin Plan. This 1082document, revised in 1986, identifies standards for rlfrçtive teacher educationprograms.

Establishing and Maintaining Standards jor the Governance of th Ti cing Profession. This 1987 report, prepared by the NEA Instruction andProfessional Development Committee, presents a professional self-governancemodel to guide NEA aml affiliate activities.

An Assessment Continuum for the Teaching Profession. Developed in 1986by the NEA Special Committee on Competency Testing, this guide outlines acareer-long assessment process designed to facilitate the professional develop-r..ent of teachers.

Ventures in Good Schooling. This 1986 report, a joint project of NEA andthe National Association of Secondary School Principals, notes the principlesthat can foster educational renewal at the secondary school building level.

The Conditions and Resources of Teaching. Published in 1986, this reportdocuments the impact of school organization and management on instruction-al effectiveness.

The NE.A Position Statement on Professional Growth and Development.Adopted by the NEA Board of Directors in 1986, this document describeshow teachers can help teachers refine their professional performance and liststhe essential elements of effective performance evaluation programs.

Higher Education Reform. Published in 1987, this collection of positionpapers explains the NEA perspective on the key issues facing America'scolleges and universities.

For more information on these and other papers, contact NEA Instructionand Pro Development, 1201 16th St. mr, 1Vashingion, D,C. 200,16,

now °edits: cower. John Stortruand; inside cover, joc Di Din; p,2 Joe Di Dio; p.6Brum Borid. Jim Cote; p.7 DIM lortin, jot Di Din, Paul Richards; p V Jot Di Din;p.11 Ernie Leyba/PHOTOSTAFE, Inc p.13 DO RA*, jr.; p.13 Alan Ilecnid: p.17jot Di Dia: p.19 &eve jenninp.

This report has been developed under the auspices of thc NEA StandingCommittee on Instruction and Professional Development, chaired by NancyJewell, in response to a recommendation of the special NEA Higher EducationAdvisory Committee, chaired by James Davenport.

July 1987

neanational educatIon association1201 Sixteenth Street, NM.

Washington, D.C. 20O36