Blueprint for Change in Idaho: State Teacher Policy Yearbook, 2010
Author: National Council on Teacher Quality
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Teaching (Occupation),Elementary Secondary Education,Educational Policy,Teacher Evaluation,Teacher Effectiveness,Teacher Improvement,Tenure,Teacher Dismissal,State Government,State Regulation,Academic Achievement,Educational Improvement,Teacher Certification,Alternative Teacher Certification,Needs Assessment,Yearbooks,Retirement Benefits,Educational Change,Teacher Education,Special Education Teachers,Elementary School Teachers,Middle School Teachers,Educational Objectives,Comparative Analysis,Public Schools

The 2009 &quot;State Teacher Policy Yearbook&quot; provided a comprehensive review of states' policies that impact the teaching profession. As a companion to last year's comprehensive state-by-state analysis, the 2010 edition provides each state with an individualized &quot;Blueprint for Change,&quot; building off last year's &quot;Yearbook&quot; goals and recommendations. State teacher policy addresses a great many areas, including teacher preparation, certification, evaluation and compensation. With so many moving parts, it may be difficult for states to find a starting point on the road to reform. To this end, this paper provides a state-specific roadmap, organized in three main sections. Section 1 identifies policy concerns that need critical attention, the areas of highest priority for state policymakers. Section 2 outlines &quot;low-hanging fruit,&quot; policy changes that can be implemented in relatively short order. Section 3 offers a short discussion of some longer-term systemic issues that states need to make sure stay on the radar. In the 2009 &quot;State Teacher Policy Yearbook&quot;, Idaho had the following grades: (1) Delivering Well Prepared Teachers (D); (2) Expanding the Teaching Pool (D); (3) Identifying Effective Teachers (D-); (4) Retaining Effective Teachers (D+); and (5) Exiting Ineffective Teachers (F). Idaho has an overall grade of D- for 2009. In the last year, many states made significant changes to their teacher policies, spurred in many cases by the Race to the Top competition. Based on a review of state legislation, rules and regulations, the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) has identified the following recent policy changes in Idaho: (1) Idaho now requires districts to adopt or develop a teacher evaluation model aligned to minimum standards that are based on the Danielson Framework for Teaching domains and components of instruction; (2) The state has deleted the section of its code requiring that teachers be specifically trained in the science of reading. Instead the code reads: &quot;The higher education institutions shall be responsible for the preservice assessment measure for all kindergarten through grade twelve (12) teacher preparation programs. The state added that it is launching a research project this year to study inter-rater reliability among administrators using the new evaluation framework. It also asserted that the specifics regarding elementary competencies have been removed from the statute but will be rewritten into a Board Rule. In addition to elementary competencies, Idaho stated that higher education institutions will be required to prepare candidates in adolescent literacy and literacy for English language learners. Individual sections contain footnotes. (Contains 5 figures.) [For the related reports, see &quot;Blueprint for Change: National Summary. State Teacher Policy Yearbook, 2010&quot; (ED515614) and &quot;State Teacher Policy Yearbook, 2009. Idaho&quot; (ED511890).]