New law may make it easier for people to become teachers in Washington state
Responding to concerns that admissions tests help keep teachers of color out of the classroom, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signed a law Wednesday to ease requirements for teacher preparation programs.
State officials hope the move will grow and diversify the pool of public-school educators in Washington.
Starting this summer, students aspiring to enroll in teacher-preparation programs — which are hosted through community colleges and universities — will no longer have to earn a minimum score on the state’s mandatory basic skills exam called the WEST-B.
The state first implemented the requirement for prep-program applicants in the early aughts, in an effort to improve teacher quality.
Read more: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/education/new-law-may-make-it-easier-for-people-to-become-teachers-in-washington-state/
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to get candidates to study to be teachers. But you must maintain standards to qualify upon graduation.
That being said, what are the standards required?
Should a person trained to be an elementary teacher be required to pass a "state board exam" that includes advanced calculus?
Why?
For as long as I remember, 1 ducky plus 1 ducky equals 2 duckies - and I didn't need any "advanced math" to do that!
Another problem is that if they do "lower the standards" to become a teacher, what happens when the state is still using mandated testing to evaluate the success of the teacher, especially if is one that became a teacher because of the "lower standards?"
Are we now able to say that the teacher is not doing a good job because we made it easier to become a teacher?
There are many facets to improving education in our country, and having a staff that reflects the diversity of the community is one of them, but you can't make exceptions to "match the numbers" and still expect to see "progress" in the quality of the education provided by the school without maintaining the expectations of the caliber and qualifications of the teaching candidates.
This is a good move on the part of the state - keep pushing for quality in the classroom. 
