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By Julie C. D. Meyer-Houston, CCTC Liaison

My newsletter contributions highlight each CCTC meeting as it pertains to you - the prospective California public school educator. Detailed information about the Commission is on the web at www.ctc.ca.gov.

Higher standards for teacher preparation programs and credential applicants, which should be implemented over the next 27 months, have been created for explicit and implied reasons. Explicitly, the standards are supposed to raise the standard of how well a teacher is prepared to teach in a classroom, thus assuring each California K-12 student ultimately should be taught by a well-educated, highly qualified teacher. Implicitly, the standards are supposed to raise the public's perception of the teaching profession, that is, that teachers are in fact well qualified, and deserving of more respect and higher wages than currently earned.

At the November meetings, these were the most SCTA-significant items: 1) Revisions to the CBEST for the math and reading sections; 2) legislation followed by the CCTC; 3) restructuring of the Administrative Services Credential-this topic set an all-time record of 3.5 hours for the length of time any matter has been discussed.

During the December meetings, the following were the most SCTA-significant items: 1) Assessment of candidate performance in professional teacher preparation programs for Preliminary, Multiple and Single Subject Credentials has been revised to align with the newly adopted Teaching Performance Expectations (TPEs); 2) continued discussion on the issues and options in the preparation and licensure of K-12 administrators; 3) re-election of the CCTC's Chair, Alan Bersin and Vice Chair, Lawrence Madkins for 2002.

For more information about these new standards, go to www.ctc.ca.gov/profserv/draft_stds/draft_stds. If you want to contact me, you can reach me at 707/647-1094 or JulieDRLM@aol.com.