Impact of the no child left behind act in Alabama: a review

Journal of Instructional Psychology, Sept, 2006 by Shawn H. Plash, Chris Piotrowski

Based on the policies and goals of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA), this study reviews how educators in the state of Alabama have addressed the many critical issues posed by this Presidential directive. Challenges such as certification, competency, quality of instruction, teacher training, and funding are discussed. Several state legislative initiatives that serve as drawbacks to meeting the requirements of NCLBA were noted.

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On June 10, 2003, President Bush announced that every state had to have an accountability plan in place that strives to achieve the goals set forth by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA). When President Bush took office, only 11 states were in compliance. In fact, Alabama was one of the last of the 17 states to have their accountability plan approved by the federal government. Under the plan Alabama had to describe how every student would achieve academic proficiency, regardless of the academic or economic level of the student (U.S. Department of Education, 2003).

Alabama, along with the other 49 states, is responsible for submitting an annual progress report every summer between 2003 and 2006 to document the state's progress in meeting the requirement of every child being taught by a highly qualified teacher (Education News in Alabama, 2003a). The Alabama Association of School Administrators estimates that 15% of the current teachers in the state do not meet the highly qualified standards; it was originally predicted that 40% of the current teachers would not meet the standards (Education News in Alabama, 2003b). Of these estimated 15%, there are two groups. The first group is comprised of teachers who are not teaching in their field. The second group identifies those who lack one or two college credits in their core subject area (Education News in Alabama, 2003c).

The Alabama State Department of Education issues teacher certificates at three levels to individuals who have received a degree from a regionally accredited institution of higher education and completed a teacher education program approved by the state. The Class B certificate is awarded to those individuals who have completed a baccalaureate degree, Class A is given to those individuals that have completed a master's degree, and a Class AA is given to those graduates who have earned a sixth year degree or an educational specialist degree. During the last 19 years, perspective teachers enrolled in teacher preparation programs in Alabama were not required to pass a subject-specific test to receive certification. As of December 2002, prospective teachers have been given the Alabama Prospective Teacher Test (APTT). Prospective teachers must pass all three sections of the APTT and there is no limit to the number of times the test can be taken. Proficiency in applied reading for information, applied mathematics, and writing will have to be demonstrated for teacher certification. Also, applicants for alternative and preliminary certificates and applicants reinstating Professional Educator Certificates in teaching fields that have lapsed for more than six months from their expiration dates are required to pass the APTT. If an individual fails a portion of the test, the individual may be eligible for a compensation model. In this model an individual's grade point average (GPA) is combined with the test score. If an individual's test scores and GPA still do not meet passing requirements a remediation course designed by the state may satisfy requirements. However, some universities in the state require students to pass all portions of the test before graduation (Alabama Department of Education, 2003; Alabama Education News, 2003b).

The Alabama Department of Education issues emergency certificates. These certificates have been found not to meet the requirement set forth by NCLBA. The state department also issues three alternative route certificates that do not meet the NCLBA criteria: the Alternative Baccalaureate-Level Certificate, the Special Alternative Certificate, and the Preliminary Certificate (Alabama Education News, 2003b).

In June of 2003, policymakers for the state considered three options for those teachers who are considered under-certified. In the first option, the teachers would voluntarily take a subject-specific test to prove their proficiency in the subject area. In the second option, the state could endorse the Highly Objective Uniform State Standard of Evaluation (HOUSSE) model to assist teachers in becoming highly qualified. In this model, a professional reviews the credentials of the teacher using a flexible, non-standardized method. The last option would require the teacher to pass additional coursework (Education News in Alabama, 2003c).

In November of 2003, the state education leaders announced that under-certified teachers would be allowed to take the Praxis lion a voluntary basis. The Education Testing Service in Princeton, New Jersey developed the test. Sixteen Praxis H tests have been approved for meeting the requirements for establishing highly qualified status in regard to the Alabama Department of Education and the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. The Praxis II is used for testing teacher competency across content areas. The test was administered in Alabama four times in 2004 at: the University of South Alabama, Mobile; Troy State University, Troy; and Athens State University, Athens; University of Alabama at Birmingham; and Miles College, Birmingham. Teachers are allowed to take the test in other states but they must meet minimum passing scores that have been set in Alabama. Initially, the Praxis II will only be given to teachers in early childhood education, elementary education, elementary special education, middle school math, science, social studies, and English, middle school generalist, and reading specialist for pre-school through 12th grade. Minimum passing scores range from 118 on content knowledge for the mathematics teacher to 500 for reading specialist and economics teacher. Presently, eight tests are in the process of being validated. Teachers may take the tests that have not been validated but minimum scores have not yet been established. The Praxis II test became available to secondary teachers in the summer of 2004. The cost of the test ranges from $70 and $80, depending on the subject area. Test scores are released only to the test taker. State education leaders have assured teachers that they may take the test until they achieve a passing score and no negative consequences would be forthcoming if the teacher does not pass the test (Alabama Department of Education, 2004; Alabama School Journal, 2003a).