Experts Seek Higher Quality Reading Teachers In Renewed NCLB

One of the hot topics concerning the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) reauthorization is the quality of teachers. And your reading tutors may not be out of reach of new requirements. Here's the lowdown on how the quality standards may influence the way you train your literacy tutors.

Now: Currently, public school reading teachers must comply with NCLB teacher quality standards. However, these standards don't apply to literacy tutors affiliated with public schools, GreatSchools.net explains on its website.

What's to come: If NCLB continues to require -- and puts an even greater emphasis on -- supplementary education services (SES), your literacy program may face some new compliance hurdles.

More Training Could Be In Your Future

If NCLB raises the bar for teachers, schools will need to prepare for more training and professional development -- and that training could spill into the SES arena.
Current requirements: NCLB holds states responsible for making sure new and veteran teachers are "highly qualified," which the legislation defines as holding a full state license or certification. New elementary and secondary teachers must hold a Bachelor's degree in addition to their state certification while veteran teachers must prove their competence in each subject they teach, according to the National Governors Association (NGA) Education division.

Proposed changes: The International Reading Association (IRA) called for stronger literacy and reading training for teachers in a report titled "A Call To Action and a Framework for Change: IRA's Position on NCLB Reform." Most of these recommendations involve more effective training, monitoring and assessment, along with stringent literacy education training even for teachers who don't specialize in reading.