Some effects of Oklahoma's teacher reform law on small rural and non-rural secondary schools /

Abstract

Oklahoma's approach to ensuring the public that quality education is being built into the state's system of common education through more stringent teacher preparation is symbolized by a legislative bill, H.B. 1706. That bill addresses some concerns regarding teacher preparation that appear to ignore the needs of small rural schools in the state. This study was intended to demonstrate statistically whether such concerns were warranted. The preliminary finding is that H.B. 1706 does not appear to have a punitive effect on small rural schools in terms of their ability to hire first-year teachers, to make teaching assignments (multiple or not), to obtain temporary certificates in emergency situations, or to offer courses to students in their districts. Some problems might be occurring in terms of the entry-year assistance mandate of H.B. 1706 because of isolation, funding problems, or other (unknown) variables. Such possibilities should be subjected to investigation before conclusions are drawn or remedial suggestions made. In short, H.B. 1706 is making an impact on the schools of this state, and it can responsibly be asserted that the impact is a positive one.