Gerald Bracey and Alex Molnar, Education Policy Studies Laboratory (ASU)
February 12, 2003
Here the ubiquitous Gerald Bracey and Alex Molnar turn up as coauthors of a paper from the dyspeptic Education Policy Studies Laboratory at Arizona State University. You may not surprised to learn that they believe the "highly qualified teacher" provision of NCLB will reduce teacher supply "if strictly enforced"; that they oppose "highly scripted" curricula (such as many of those validated by research and many of those promoted by the for-profit firms that the authors abhor); that they're against high-stakes testing and in favor of small classes; that they're cool toward content knowledge and judging teacher quality by student achievement; that they swallow hook, line and sinker the notions promulgated by the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future with respect to teacher training and certification; that they really truly think all teachers should be paid a lot more; and that they care deeply about the "diversity" of the teaching force. In sum, just about every dubious and faddish bit of conventional wisdom about teachers and teaching finds its way into these 40 pages. I doubt you want a copy but you can find it at http://www.asu.edu/educ/epsl/EPRU/documents/EPSL-0302-102-EPRU.doc.