State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Progress on Teacher Quality, 2007. Florida State Summary

The "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" examines what is arguably the single most powerful authority over the teaching profession: state government. This Florida edition of the National Council on Teacher Quality's (NCTQ's) "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" is the first of what will be an annual look at the status of state policies impacting the teaching profession. It is hoped that this report will help focus attention on areas where state policymakers could make improvements to benefit both students and teachers. This policy evaluation is broken down into six areas that include a total of 27 goals. Broadly, these goals examine the impact of state policy on the preparation, certification, licensure, compensation and effectiveness of teachers across the elementary, secondary and special education spectra. Florida's progress toward meeting these goals is summarized. Overall, Florida has done a good job in meeting some goals, but there is significant room for improvement in several areas. Florida completely missed seven goals, met a small portion of six, partially met five, nearly met four and fully met five--including two best practice designations. The state performed better than most states in Area 3, "Teacher Evaluation and Compensation." Florida has the most work to do in Area 6, "Preparation of Special Education Teachers." It stands out for requiring an annual evaluation for all teachers that is primarily based on student performance, and for implementing a performance pay plan that bases awards in part on student gains. These policies can serve as best practice models for other states. The state, however, needs to do more to ensure that special education teacher candidates receive the training they need to become highly qualified. The body of the report provides a more detailed breakdown of the state's strengths and weaknesses in each area. Detailed rationale and "Food for Thought" for each area and corresponding goal are appended. (Contains 72 figures.) [Additional funding for this first edition of the "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" was provided by the Achelis Foundation, Bodman Foundation, Daniel's Fund, Fisher Family Foundation, Gleason Foundation, and The Teaching Commission. This state report is part of NCTQ's State Teacher Policy Yearbook series. For the national summary, see ED506661.