ABSTRACT
The quality and qualifications of public school teachers have come under increased scrutiny from the public, policymakers, and the profession in the past 2 decades. But efforts to elevate standards for teachers beganmuch earlier in the 20th century, as normal schools graduallywere transformed into colleges and universities. Since 1985, every state has raised the bar for entry into the teaching profession in one or more ways: raising minimum grade point averages (GPAs); requiring majors in content areas; instituting teacher tests; requiringmaster’s degrees for permanent certification; raising standards for program registration; and requiring national accreditation of teacher education programs.
