TQ Connection
Bringing Together Special Education and General Education
Special Education Resources
Reports
- America’s Challenge: Effective Teachers for At-Risk Schools and Students
In the two short years since the launch of the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality , a tremendous amount of information has been compiled about the availability, recruitment, and retention of teachers for at-risk schools and students. National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality has compiled much of this learning in its inaugural biennial report, America’s Challenge: Effective Teachers for At-Risk Schools and Students, which was released on October 11, 2007. The report includes information on the preparation of teachers for students with special needs.
- Barriers to the Preparation of Highly Qualified Teachers in Reading (
Adobe® Reader® PDF)
This brief investigates the use of scientifically based reading research and instruction in the preparation, certification, and licensure of beginning teachers. National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality researchers Susan Smartt, Ph.D., and Daniel Reschly, Ph.D., of Vanderbilt University also describe the use of innovation configurations in research on teacher preparation programs.
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Navigating Highly Qualified Teacher Requirements for Special Education Teachers: State Challenges and Responses ( Adobe Reader PDF)
This report presents information on state-level policy governing the requirements for initial special education teacher certification and indicates how these policies align with federal highly qualified teacher (HQT) mandates. It provides a foundation from which states can access a common vocabulary to discuss special education teacher requirements and to compare and contrast alignment with federal definitions and mandates.
- The Teacher Preparation > Teacher Practices > Student Outcomes Relationship in Special Education: Missing Links and New Connections ( Adobe Reader PDF)
This brief by Laura Goe, Ph.D., at ETS and Jane Coggshall, Ph.D., at Learning Point Associates examines the literature on the relationship between preservice teacher preparation, teacher inservice practice, and outcomes for students with special needs. Specific recommendations for program improvement and further research are provided.
- The Teacher Preparation > Teacher Practices > Student Outcomes Relationship in Special Education: Missing Links and Next Steps. A Research Synthesis
This research synthesis is an in-depth review of the literature on the links between the content and form of preservice teacher preparation in special education, teachers’ practice in classrooms, and the achievement outcomes of students with special needs. It documents the need for more research in this important area.
TQ Research and Policy Updates
- TQ Research & Policy Brief Vol. 1, No. 1 (April 2006)
This inaugural issue of focused on the specific challenge of ensuring highly qualified teachers for students with special needs—students at risk for poor educational outcomes and students with disabilities. (
Adobe® Reader® PDF 311 KB)
Websites and Tools
- TQ Source
The premier online resource for information on teacher quality, teacher effectiveness, educational leadership, teacher preparation, accountability and advancement, recruitment and retention, and certification and licensure. - TQ Source Tips and Tools: Emerging Strategies to Enhance Teacher Quality
Available on the TQ Source website, TQ Source Tips and Tools: Emerging Strategies to Enhance Educator Quality is designed to help education practitioners tap into strategies and resources they can use to enhance teacher quality. Information is available for the following topics in special education:
Online Databases
- Highly Qualified Special Education Teacher Requirements Database
This database includes state statutes, administrative codes, rules and regulations, and education rules to provide a more complete and accurate picture of activity surrounding the critically important issue of special education teacher requirements. It gives specific attention to state activity with regard to aligning practice and policy to meet the mandates of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA).
- Special Education Teacher Certification and Licensure Database
This database provides information about policies in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories pertaining to special education teacher certification, licensure, and endorsements. - Publications Database
The TQ Source publications database houses information for publications in the following issue areas: preparation, recruitment and retention, certification and licensure, accountability and advancement, special education, and leadership.
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