Standards for Professional Development

• General standards for professional development are published by the National Staff Development Council.
• The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards maintains standards for teachers of English as a New Language.

Teacher Capacity

• U.S. Goverment Accountability Office. (2009). Teacher Preparation: Multiple Federal Education Offices Support Teacher Preparation for Instructing Students with Disabilities and English Language Learners, but Systematic Departmentwide Coordination Could Enhance This Assistance. Washington, DC: Author.

This study by the U.S. Government Accountability Office examined whether teachers who were responsible for English learners received adequate preparation in their teacher education programs to work successfully with this population of students. The study focused in depth of four states—California, Georgia, Nebraska, and Texas. The GAO also examined federal funding streams from the U.S. Department of Education which support teacher education for both ELs and for students with disabilities.

• National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality. (2009). Certification and Licensure for Teachers of English Language Learners. Washington, DC: Author.

The National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality has produced a state-by-state matrix examining key components of licensure for ESL or bilingual education teachers, including: whether the state offers certification in ESL or bilingual education; whether the state requires the Praxis II exam; required coursework for ESL or bilingual education teachers; and requirements for general education teachers.

• National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality. (2009). Preparing Teachers of English Language Learners. Washington, DC: Author.

This 2009 issue paper from the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality examines some of the key policy questions regarding the preparation of general education teachers who will be working with English learners. Included in the appendix is a rubric for evaluating teacher preparation programs. The body of the report outlines the research base for the evaluative components.

• NCELA's 2008 report Educating English Language Learners: Building Teacher Capacity provides strategies for professional development practices for mainstream teachers of ELLs. There are three volumes to the report:

Volume I: Teacher Education and Professional Development for Mainstream Teachers of English Language Learners
Volume II: Annotated Bibliography
Volume III: State Requirements for Pre-Service Teachers of ELLs

• Telléz, K. & Waxman, H.C. (2005). Quality teachers for English language learners: A review of the research. The Laboratory for Student Success, The Mid-Atlantic Regional Educational Laboratory at Temple University Center for Research in Human Development and Education.

This synthesis provides an overview of the general studies of teacher quality, and proposes four areas of policy levers that can raise teacher quality for English language learners (ELLs). The four areas are preservice, recruitment and selection of teachers, inservice, and retention of exemplary ELD teachers. The paper describes the role of teacher education in preparing preservice teachers, identifies some exemplary inservice programs, states the standards developed for ELD teachers, and describes legislative and policy issues in licensing ELL teachers.

• U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2001). Teacher Preparation and Professional Development: 2000 (NCES 2001–088). Washington, DC: Parsad, B., Lewis, L. & Farris, E.

This NCES publication reports on a survey of teacher preparation, and includes a question related to professional development related to EL students. The survey finds that of all the topics considered, teachers were least likely to have had professional development relating to English learners.