The Flunk Heard Round the World

Abstract

In April 1998, the state of Massachusetts implemented its first-ever high-stakes teacher test, requiring a pass of all those who sought a teaching license. Fifty-nine percent of teacher candidates failed, and their flunk was heard in newspaper and television stories around the world. This article presents brief highlights from a study of the impact of the Massachusetts test on teacher education at five higher education sites in the state. Contrary to expectations based on research about the impact of high stakes tests in K-12 schools, the study indicated that the teacher test had little impact on teacher education curriculum or program structures. Drawing on a market-policy lens, the article suggests that, instead, one of the major impacts of the test was its contribution to the grand narrative about teaching and teacher education as culprits in what is wrong with public schools and public education, which in turn supports a larger political agenda for privatization and a market approach to educational reform.