F.A.Q

What are the particulars of ‘Highly Qualified?

FACT SHEET ON HIGHLY QUALIFIED OPTIONS FOR TENNESSEE TEACHERS

NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND (NCLB) ACT

NCLB Highly Qualified Requirements:

All core academic teachers must be highly qualified by the end of school year 2005-2006.

Teachers of core academic subjects newly hired after the first day of school in the 2002-03 school year to teach in a program supported by Title I funds (school-wide or targeted assistance), must meet the requirements upon employment.

All other teachers of core academic subjects (new hires in non-Title I schools/ programs and all existing teachers), must meet the requirements by the end of the 2005-06 school year.

NCLB Core academic subject areas include English, reading or language arts, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, arts, history, and geography.

A highly qualified teacher must meet all three of the following conditions: Bachelor’s Degree; and Teacher’s License (no requirements waived); and Demonstrate competency for grade/subject area(s) being taught.

Elementary (K-6) Subject knowledge in reading, writing, math, and other areas of basic elementary curriculum. Middle (7-8) and High School (9-12) Content knowledge in each core academic subject assigned to teach.

Options for Meeting NCLB Highly Qualified Requirements:

The Tennessee-defined teacher quality requirements are outlined in detail in the Tennessee Plan for Implementing the Teacher and Paraprofessional Quality Provisions of the NCLB Act of 2001. A copy of the state plan is available online. Teachers should read this plan prior to selecting any option to meet the federal requirements of NCLB.

  • Academic Major: The major must be in the academic content area.
  • Coursework Equivalent: Twenty-four (24) semester hours in the academic content area (excluding methodology courses).
  • Graduate Degree: The graduate degree must be in the academic content area.
  • National Board Certification (NBC): NBC must be at the grade level being taught (K-6) or in the academic content area (7-12).
  • Test: The applicable NTE or Praxis tests are listed in Appendix A of the State Plan.
  • Framework for Evaluation & Professional Growth: Revised classroom observation component under development.
  • Teacher Effect Data: The teacher vs state gain comparison level must be Not Detectably Different (NDD) from the mean or Above the mean for the state.
  • Professional Matrix: Teachers must accumulate 100 points on the Matrix to achieve highly qualified status.