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The article discusses the court case Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association wherein the Supreme Court hears allegation on free speech teachers' union financing. Topics discussed include the background of the case, the allegation of teachers and a Christian educators' group on agency fees or fair share payment of nonmembers violation to the free speech rights, the associated cases, and the continuous trial of the case.

The article examines the decrease of enrollment in teacher preparation programs in the U.S. The comment of Mary Vixie Sandy, executive director of the California Commission on Teaching Credentials, on the matter is noted. Also noted is the comment of Alisa Chapman, president for academic and university programs at University of North Carolina, on the decline of teaching programs at the university.

The article discusses the success of the teacher-pay experiment of the Baltimore school district in Maryland. Topics covered include the designation of lead teachers based on professional accomplishments rather than senior or credentials, concept of the Professional Practices and Student Learning Program, credit options for teachers and teachers' reaction to the program.

The article discusses the use of the edTPA performance-based licensing test for teacher candidates in the U.S. Topics discussed include the use of portfolios in the edTPA, the attitudes of teacher educators towards the test, and the experience of teacher Jaclyn Midgette who took the test to become certified.

The article discusses the involvement of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in funding U.S. teacher quality initiatives. Topics discussed include foundation spending on teacher professional development, the impact of the foundation on U.S. education policy debate, and the foundation's funding of research and studies that have led to the use of value-added measures and student surveys in teacher evaluation.

The article discusses teacher-candidates' student-teaching and mentoring experiences in the U.S., adapted from an article by Stephen Sawchuk in the December 5, 2012 issue of the periodical "Education Week."

The article discusses challenges facing the implementation of the U.S. Common Core State Standards and the importance of teacher development, adapted from the article "Many Teachers Not Ready for the Common Core," by Stephen Sawchuk, published in the April 25, 2012, issue of "Education Week."

A condensed reprint of the article "New Attitudes Shaping Labor-District Relations," by Stephen Sawchuk, which was published in the November 16, 2011 issue of the journal "Education Week," is presented. The article examines the role of collective bargaining rights for teachers in collaboration between school districts and teachers' unions. Other topics explored include school budgets, U.S. education policy, and teacher evaluations.

An excerpt from the article "New Groups Give Teachers Alternative Voice" by Stephen Sawchuk in the September 14, 2011 issue of the journal "Education Week" is presented.

A condensed reprint of the article "Study Throws Cold Water on Bonus Pay" by Stephen Sawchuk, from the September 29, 2010 issue of "Education Week," is presented. The article discusses the Project on Incentives in Teaching (POINT) study, conducted by the National Center on Performance Incentives, which investigated the effects of performance-based teacher compensation on overall student achievement in Nashville, Tennessee. It concluded that such compensation did not increase student achievement.

The article is reprinted in condensed form from the journal "Education Week" January 27, 2010. It discusses the quality of standardized tests, noting that multiple choice tests are cheap and easy to administer and score, but that tests which measure higher-order thinking by use of open-ended items are regarded as more appropriate and are much more expensive. An explanation of the costs is presented, including scoring, creation of questions, and quality control.