The rollout of Texas’ Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA) has already become a major success. When state officials opened applications on February 4, demand poured in at an unprecedented rate, with tens of thousands of families rushing to apply. Early figures show the scale of that demand. Within just hours of launch, more than 20,000 applications...
Every state requires public school teachers to be “certified,” and most of that certification runs through a university school of education. New research by TPPF’s Kate Bierly asks a simple question: is that credential actually worth anything? The answer, backed by decades of data, is no. Teacher training used to happen in “normal schools.” The practical, two-year...
Restoring Confidence and Prestige to the Teaching Profession The epidemic of uncertified teachers in Texas schools is the result of the collapse of the teacher preparation program, especially university programs. These programs have traded a focus on the classroom for social activism. Key points: More than 10% of teachers in Texas schools are now uncertified....