POLL: Should Immersion Teachers Take the Basic Skills Test?
A new law requires all teachers to pass a basic skills test before teaching in public schools.
A group of Minnetonka parents with students in the Chinese and Spanish language immersion programs are worried about a new law that requires all teachers to pass a basic skills test before teaching in public schools. However, some parents believe the level of English proficiency required for the Minnesota Teacher Licensure Basic Skills Test is not basic and goes beyond conversational English. "One of the goals of our immersion program is to hire teachers with native-level fluency in the immersion language," commented one parent. Public school teachers were already required to take the basic skills test but did not have to pass before they began teaching. Under the old law, would-be teachers who failed the test– as about 30 percent did– …
Gwen Voegtle
11:15 am on Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Thank you for making the challenges the non-native English speaking teachers more clear. more ›