Report Probes "Diversity Gap" On Teacher Tests

Stephen Sawchuk wrote in a blog for Education Week (3/23), "Minority teachers tend to take licensing exams later in their academic or professional careers than their white peers, findings that could partly explain their lower scores on the tests and lower passing rates, according to a report released this morning by the Educational Testing Service and the National Education Association. The study suggests candidates who take the tests earlier in their career, regardless of race, tend to do better on it, and that efforts to improve the knowledge and skills of minority teacher candidates therefore need to begin early." According to Sawchuk, "Everyone from the teachers' unions to US Secretary of Arne Duncan have acknowledged that the paucity of minority-race teachers is a problem, especially as the country grows more diverse every year."