By Dalia Zabala, Associate Director of Policy

On December 3rd, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development released the results of the 2012 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) that assesses the extent to which 15-year-old students, in 65 participating countries, have acquired the essential knowledge and skills needed for full participation in modern societies. 

International comparisons of student achievement do not shed a positive light on the United States.  In mathematics, 29 countries outperformed the U.S.  In reading, the U.S. slipped from 14th place to 20th.  In science, the U.S. dropped from 17th to 25th place.  However, "the U.S. average mathematics, science, and reading scores in 2012 were not measurably different from average scores in previous PISA assessment years," reported the National Center on Education Statistics.  Our nation's performance has not decreased: The problem is that other nations have raised student achievement.  "With each survey, more and more countries surpass the U.S." reported Mark Tucker, president and CEO of the National Center on Education and the Economy. 

So what are other countries doing to raise student achievement? And what can the U.S. learn from them? This has been an ongoing question, and numerous reports conclude with rather similar lessons to be learned.  Most notably, and aligned to the NTC's work, is the investment other nations make in not only preparing new teachers with content knowledge but also with pedagogical strategies before they are given full responsibility for a classroom.

In a position paper titled What the U.S. Can Learn from the World's Most Successful Education Reform Efforts, Andreas Schleicher and Dr. Steven Paine identify key factors that may explain our nation's low performance on PISA. These include the low status of the teaching profession, the absence of high academic standards for all students, and the fact that we invest less on the most disadvantaged students. The most valuable lesson from high achieving nations, they explain, is the investment in, preparation of, and continued development of high-quality teachers. 

In a report, Standing on the Shoulders of Giants, Marc Tucker explains how Shanghai (China) and Finland, two of the top performers on PISA, place strong emphasis on training teacher candidates in pedagogy during preparation and induction.  In Finland, there are no "alternative routes" into the teaching profession.  The only way to become a teacher is to attain a university degree.  All teachers receive an education of five years or more and the time is divided almost equally between content and pedagogical training.  In Shanghai, while 90 percent of the pre-service training is devoted to content mastery, all new teachers are expected to spend their first year teaching under the supervision of a master teacher who is released from all or most of his/her classroom teaching responsibilities.  The master teacher models teaching, observes the new teacher and provides feedback and intensive coaching. 

Based on the PISA outcomes and on the OECD report Strong Performers and Successful Reformers in Education, the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education (AACTE) stresses valuable lessons from high-achieving nations, including the investment in teacher quality both during and after initial preparation.  AACTE highlights Germany and Japan, whose students regularly score high on PISA and outperform the U.S., and where teachers enter the profession through one or two years of heavily supervised teaching even after completing rigorous preparation programs. During this supervised period, AACTE explains, beginning teachers typically receive "a reduced workload, strong mentoring from master teachers and continued formal instruction before they are given complete control over a classroom.  In contrast, the quality of induction programs in the U.S. "is uneven at best."  

Following our participation in the International Summit on the Teaching Profession in Amsterdam back in March, NTC External Affairs Chief Eric Hirsch discussed the examples of nations such as New Zealand and Singapore (with which NTC works) that provide intensive support to their early-career teachers. The perspective of many international participants is that the U.S. has prioritized teacher accountability over instructional improvement, which can be furthered through non-summative means outside of evaluation processes. "In the U.S.," Hirsch wrote, "we are rightly optimistic that formative and summative evaluation can mutually coexist in the same system. But it will take an investment, particularly in our newest teachers and leaders, to ensure that thoughts about students translate into improved instruction on their collective behalf."

Our federal government and our 50 states have work to do to elevate the teaching profession and to provide individualized, rich learning opportunities for all educators--including during the critical induction phase. High-quality professional learning must become a centerpiece of national and state efforts to improve educator effectiveness. Currently, it often functions as an afterthought, behind a teacher accountability and assessment focus.

NTC has reviewed teacher induction policies in all 50 states.  A summary of this review and individual state profiles are available online. We continue to encourage states to look toward our 10 policy priorities for guidance in ensuring that every beginning teacher gets comprehensive induction support from a carefully selected and highly trained mentor during their first two years on the job.