How did Pennsylvania calculate the percentages of “highly qualified teachers” in the public schools of the Commonwealth?
Annually, each school entity submits its Elementary and Secondary Professional Personnel (ESPP) report that includes each teacher’s class assignment(s). This information is matched against the Teacher Certification System (TCS) to the teacher’s certificate subject areas. A crosswalk was created to list all of the appropriate certificate areas for each assignment. • What is the definition of a “highly qualified teacher” in Pennsylvania? How is that definition different from the U. S. Department of Education’s (USDOE) definition? A highly qualified teacher in Pennsylvania holds an Intern, Instructional I or Instructional II certificate in the subject area he/she is assigned to teach. In order to issue that certificate, an individual must hold a bachelor’s degree, have completed a content area major and passed a content area test. Additionally, that individual must have completed teacher education course work, including student teaching. A highly qualified teacher, according to USDOE, is
