Portland State University Magazine Fall 1991

no doubt that other states value the program's graduates. Eastern Oregon State College has graduated two clas– ses of fifth-year students, and many were snatched up by Washington and Idaho school districts. Everhart reports that the program is popular among students as well as administrator : "We had 240 Jim Hager, Beaverton Schools Superintendent applications for this fa ll 's 60 spots." The programs may be highly recommended by education profes– sionals, but not everyone is thrilled with the elimination of the under– graduate education degree. "Americans grow up with the idea that they have an inalienab le right to be a teacher, " says Everhart. "When peop le find out that getting into this program and be ing a teacher is com– petitive, it causes hurt feelings. My phone rings all the time with people upset because they weren 't accepted." "We're upgrad ing teaching qualificat ions," Zanville says firmly. "Not everyone will get in, just like not everyone can get into law schoo l or medi ca l schoo l." Admission criteria fo r PSU's fifth – year program is indeed rigorous: a bachelor's degree with a cumulative 3.0 grade point average; pass ing scores on two standardi zed tests, the Califor– nia Bas ic Educational Skills Test and the National T eacher Exam; and suc– cess on the NTE Test of General Knowledge fo r primary teachers (pas– sage of the NTE Specialty Area test fo r secondary teachers). In add ition, pro pective secondary teachers must have a letter of recommendation from the academic department of their sub– ject area. They're also encouraged to cons ider double majors, in order to en– hance their opportunity for ce rtifica– tion in more than one area Holly Zanville, OSSHE Associate Vice-Chancellor and increase their job poss ibilities. The program changes are being made with an ea r to critics who charge that the educa tion profession' has not moni tored itse lf properly. In · light of national reports about the up- · com ing teacher shortage, many educa– tion schools are turning out bodies, rather than ta lented educators. Continuing education is sparse, school district resources limited. High profess ional tandards aren 't always upheld . And too often, students are treated as an inconvenience, rather than as the reason fo r a school's ex ist– ence. The education reform bil l, intro– duced by State Rep. Vera Katz, D-Portland, was prompted by many of these perceived fa ilings. The Katz bill, wh ich was approved by the Oregon Legislature in June, commits the state to mass ive educational changes from pre-kindergarten through high school. Early childhood education will be expanded. Primary schools will group children according to ab ility rather than age. And traditional high schoo l will end at the 10th grade. After earning a Certificate of Initial Mastery by the end of l 0th grade, students will decide whethe r to study in a college prep or a vocat ional training program. Such "tracking" is common in European countries; Katz believes it will give non-college Robert Everhart, PSU School of Education Dean bound high schoo l students practical work skills that they don't get in the cu rren t ystem. Everhart acknowledges the validity of many of the criticisms leve led at the educationa l system by the Katz bill, educators and the general public. "The whole concept of education is up fo r grabs," he admits. "Nobody's satisfied with the product and nobody agrees who's responsible. We're trying to give PSU students better preparation and add i– tional resources fo r the prob lems and cha llenges they'll face at work." Part of that preparation is embodied in the cohort structure of the fifth-year program. Traditionally, says Everhart, teaching is a lone wolf occupation. "Teachers go to their classrooms, shut the door and teach– alone. Too often they moan in the teacher's lounge about how awful students are. Yet teachers don't work collectively to solve those problems. The cohort structure will help change that attitude, because it stresses work– ing together on everything from teaching to curriculum decisions." Associate Vice-Chancellor Zan– vi lle agrees that the cohort structure PSU 17