STATEMENT OF SENATOR EDWARD M. KENNEDY ON THE RELEASE OF A NEW REPORT ON TEACHER QUALITY ENTITLED: “TEACHER QUALITY IN A CHANGING POLICY LANDSCAPE: IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TEACHER POOL”

WASHINGTON, DC— Today, the Educational Testing Service released a new report showing that new teachers in American classrooms are more academically qualified than they were a decade ago. Senator Kennedy made the following statement in reaction to the report: “We know that teachers are the most critical resource in improving educational outcomes for children. The report released today confirms that our efforts in recent years to improve teacher quality have had a significant positive impact on improving the qualifications of teachers in our classrooms. Congress has taken further steps this year to continue to expand the pool of quality teachers, including enactment of TEACH Grants which will help recruit our best students into teaching and provisions in the America COMPETES Act aimed at improving math and science teaching. We have much more work to do, however, to build a more diverse teacher workforce and ensure that all schools – particularly those serving our poorest students – have access to the highest quality teachers. One of our highest priorities as we work to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and the Higher Education Act is to expand federal investments in programs that strengthen teacher preparation and professional development and that attract the best and brightest to teach in the schools that need them most.” ###