LET LOCAL DISTRICT DECIDE ON CREDENTIALS

A recent Associated Press article returns us to the subject of teacher certification, which is related to the problem of the teacher shortage we keep reading about.

Consider who it is we're barring from our schools: Owing to the barriers of teacher certification, Albert Einstein couldn't have taught physics, Bill Gates can't teach a computer course and opera diva Beverly Sills can't teach vocal music, all because they didn't take teacher-education courses. Of more practical application today, almost none of the laid-off Boeing engineers in the St. Louis region could teach math or science in our schools, where good teachers in these disciplines are scarce.

"Education is the last remaining field in America where people think you can boost quality by tightening the rules and multiplying regulations," said Chester Finn, president of the Thomas Fordham Foundation, a privately run school-reform research organization. Citing the National Education Association, Finn said, "Education interest groups have pushed misguided regulatory schemes that will make it even harder for our public schools to attract strong teachers into their ranks." The foundation last week released a collection of reports criticizing a slate of teacher hiring, training and evaluation trends.

Currently, 44 states including Missouri require teachers to pass a certification test to earn a license. Included are lots of requirements for completing lots of education courses.

Finn says teacher hiring should be left to local school leaders. We agree. This contradicts President Clinton's proposal, outlined in this year's State of the Union address, to basically federalize this and everything else in our lives. Finn and other reformers have good advice: Giving would-be teachers more access and fewer hurdles, allowing key personnel decisions to be made by schools and judging teachers by student learning gains.