Predicting Performance On The Professional Knowledge Portion Of The National Teacher Examinations

Teacher education programs are expected to prepare competent individuals. nevertheless, because policy makers have been unable to envision the possibility of classrooms without teachers, they have insisted on a guaranteed supply of teachers, even at the expense of quality (Dolce, 1986). However, since the report titled A National at Risk (National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983) was published, much nzonalmediaandpolitical attention has been focused on improving the quality of public education at all levels. This attention has caused an upsurge in public demand for quantitative visible educational results, effectiveness, and efficiency. These demands have resulted in growing numbers of legislative mandates at the state and national levels designed to make the education system more accountable. Conceivably, the insistence for increased educational accountability could serve as a catalyst for exerting pressures on the educational community to improve the quality of teachers entering the profession.