Conclusions of teacher audit remain unclear

No one can argue that periodic reviews of state agencies and public systems is one of the best ways to make sure they're doing what taxpayers have entrusted them to do.

So no doubt many read with interest State Auditor Claire McCaskill's report based on statistics from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The points it made were surprising and disappointing.

It showed, of the 4,256 people who received initial teaching certificates for the 1994-95 school year, only 18 percent were still on the job seven years later. It also revealed that 28 percent who received a teaching certificate never taught a day in Missouri.

As enlightening as those figures seem to be, they don't take into account some key factors. We live in a mobile society, and some teachers may very well have taken knowledge imparted here and used it in another state. There may not be teaching jobs available in the areas where these teachers have chosen to live, or they may not have the needed areas of expertise.

At least the audit brought attention to the issue of teacher recruitment and retention. Thankfully, school districts in the Cape Girardeau area aren't reporting problems with either.