Teacher Education and Reading Research

Excerpt:
The following is from the November 27, 2006, edition of The Dallas Morning News.

Putting bilingual teachers to the test

By KATHERINE LEAL UNMUTH
The Dallas Morning News

Thousands of children take the TAKS tests in Spanish each year in reading, math and science.

But what does the state do to make sure the bilingual teachers who instruct them can read and write in Spanish? Nothing.

Texas tests only speaking ability. Teachers answer 15 questions into a tape recorder to become certified in bilingual education. The questions are written in English. The answers are spoken in Spanish. Other states with bilingual programs require extensive testing of literacy and listening skills in Spanish.

For several years, Texas education officials have worked on a more rigorous test. In 2004, they approved the standards for a test that includes literacy, though a recent switch in testing companies has delayed the process.

A new test won't be an easy sell to school districts already struggling to find enough qualified teachers to handle the unprecedented growth in limited English proficient students. The fear is that tougher standards would only worsen the shortage.

But experts say that because children are being taught to read and write in the language, they should learn it correctly. Most don't get Spanish literacy skills outside of school. Plus, students taking the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills in Spanish need more advanced vocabulary and literacy skills as they get older.

"If our students are expected to perform bi-literately, our teachers should be as well," said Isabella Piña-Hinojosa, director of bilingual and ESL programs in Carrollton-Farmers Branch.

But the reality is that the number of qualified bilingual teachers in Texas is far short of demand. Last year, about 22 percent of 12,544 teachers instructing in bilingual/ESL classrooms at the first grade level and higher were not certified in the field, according to the State Board for Educator Certification. Many were not certified at all. At the pre-k and kindergarten level, the rate was about 40 percent. Last year, 376,170 children statewide were enrolled in bilingual programs. . . .

Bill Pulte, director of Southern Methodist University's teacher training programs in bilingual education, said college-level literacy skills in Spanish aren't essential to be good bilingual teachers.

"People who say they need to be perfect in Spanish literacy to teach in kindergarten – that's not true," he said. "They should be very strong orally in Spanish ... The extent to which teachers have to write in Spanish is not that great."

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