News Releases
Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - March 22, 2000
Contact:  Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136

Locke approves testing for new teachers and an educator standards board

SEATTLE — Gov. Gary Locke today signed into law a bill that will require prospective teachers to pass a test demonstrating their mastery of the subject they plan to teach before entering the classroom as a certified teacher.

The new law, a longtime priority for the governor, also requires college students to pass a uniform basic skills test before they can be admitted to a teacher-training program and creates a new Professional Educator Standards Board to develop and administer the new tests.

The new, basic skills test for students seeking entry to teacher-training programs will become mandatory Aug. 1, 2002. Those seeking certification to teach in state classrooms will be required to pass tests in their chosen subjects beginning Sept. 1, 2003.

Locke, who has championed teacher testing throughout his term as governor, called the new requirements "another big step" toward his goal of building a world-class education system in Washington. He also noted that more than 40 other states already assess teachers prior to certification to ensure that they are ready to teach before they enter the classroom.

"Good teachers are the foundation of a good education," Locke said. "For the past three years, we have asked students to demonstrate their mastery of core subjects, so they, their parents and their schools know how they are doing. It's only fair that teachers should be required to demonstrate their mastery of the subjects they teach, since so much depends on their knowledge and their skills."

Besides developing the tests for teacher certification, the new Professional Educator Standards Board will serve as the sole advisory body to the state Board of Education on professional issues – replacing five existing advisory bodies on issues ranging from recruiting educators to professional growth to revocation of licenses. The new board will have 20 members, including 7 public school teachers, one private school teacher, four school administrators, three representatives from higher education teacher-training programs, two educational staff associates, one parent and one member of the public. The Superintendent of Public Instruction will also serve as a non-voting member of the board.

All the positions except that of the Superintendent will be appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate.

In signing House Bill 2760 into law, the governor urged the Legislature to support three other initiatives he has proposed this year to support high-quality teaching – all of which are entangled in on-going negotiations over the state budget. Those measures include:

Conditional scholarships of up to $4,000 per year for 200 outstanding teacher candidates.

A one-time $5,000 salary bonus for teachers who meet the rigorous standards required for certification through the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

Funding designed to help school districts make the best use of the three additional professional development days approved by the Legislature last year.

"Teacher testing and a professional educator standards board are just two of many tools for ensuring we have well qualified instructors in our classrooms," Locke said. "We also need to reach out to promising students and reward veteran teachers who serve as standard-bearers for their profession. I'm very pleased to sign this legislation and hope lawmakers approve the other important pieces of the package."

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