Reform of Teacher Education and Robert D. Barr the Problem of Quality Assurance

Barr summarizes the growing consen sus for educational reform in America that is shaping the future of teacher edu cation. The author contrasts the reform developments that focus so heavily on academic issues such as degrees, majors, length of programs, grade point aver ages, and test scores, with a number of other developments that focus on teacher performance. These develop ments include "fast-track" programs, school-based teacher education, and the interest in deregulating teacher educa tion by substituting performance out comes for approved programs. More im portant, Barr considers the concept of Quality Assurance in Teacher Education and raises the question of evaluating teacher effectiveness on the basis of stu dent learning.