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SALT LAKE CITY — The state of Utah would require educators who seek teaching licenses to pass a teacher pedagogical assessment under a bill unanimously approved Friday by the Utah Legislature's Senate Education Committee.
SB78, sponsored by Sen. Ann Millner, R-Ogden, would require the Utah State Board of Education to establish a performance-based assessment to determine whether an educator knows how to teach.
"I think this is really important step to ensure that every single teacher who steps into a classroom in Utah is a highly effective teacher that can best support our children," said Millner, former president of Weber State University.
She likened the assessment to board exams for other professionals such as lawyers, people in medical professions, accounting and others.
"It's kind of interesting we've not really had this in place for the teaching profession. We've had it on the content side. We've not had that on what's really important, their ability to teach," she said.
Instead of the Legislature mandating a certain assessment, it is more appropriate for the Utah State Board of Education to determine the right tool and benchmarks, Millner said.
A representative of the state's largest teacher union and two college professors who instruct teacher education programs raised concerns that the bill creates different standards for teachers who undergo traditional teacher preparation and those who seek licensure through alternative certification options.
"One group has to pass an assessment to receive a license … but another group of teachers has up to two years in a classroom working with students before they must pass an assessment to retain a license. We have concerns about that," said Sara Jones, government relations director for the Utah Education Association.
A better way to implement a new requirement would be to amend State School Board rules, Jones said.
"If the standard is, every educator should be ready to teach on day one, that standard should apply to every educator. We support that standard," she said.
Millner said she began working on legislation for a pedagogical assessment requirement before the Utah State Board of Education last summer passed a new board rule called the Academic Pathway to Teaching, or APT, which is one of a variety of alternative licensure options it allows.
The latest rule allows school officials to hire prospective educators who have workforce experience in content area. However, teaching experience is not required. Applicants must have a bachelor's degree or higher in their field, submit college transcripts, pass Utah's test required for teacher certification, a background check and complete an ethics review.
Other than feedback during student teaching, the state has not had a consistent way to assess whether an educator knows how to teach, said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Sydnee Dickson.
A task force is currently reviewing teacher licensure in Utah, she said.
"We're trying to cut down on all that bureaucracy and find a better way to support better recruitment and retention as well as ensuring we have licensing processes in place that provide not only a level playing field but a way we can really determine how well teachers are teaching," she said.
Others, such as Kristi Jones, an education professor at Westminster College, said another concern is the legislation requires the State School Board to approve a single assessment.
Given the differences in teacher preparation programs in Utah, it would make more sense to have more than one assessment to ensure it "strengthened their program rather than weakened their program," Jones said, explaining that she was not speaking on behalf of the college.
But Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, said he believes a single instrument is important to ensure the "fidelity" of the assessment.
"Children's brains are not different from one district to another or one LEA (local education authority) to another. We need to make sure the teachers are qualified to teach them," he said.
