NASHVILLE – In a profession as critical as teaching, shouldn’t those seeking to renew their licenses be asked to demonstrate their effectiveness?

That has never been the case in Tennessee. KnoxBlogs.com reports that teachers in the volunteer state currently have their licenses renewed every 10 years “without regard?” to their effectiveness.

So what are the criteria for renewal?  Their level of popularity with students?

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Fortunately things may be about to change.

The Tennessee Board of Education is expected to vote Friday on a proposal to use the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System as part of the teacher license renewal process.

According to the proposal, teachers’ applications for license renewal would be partially judged by the progress their students have shown on standardized tests over the years. The test data would be a full half of the criteria used to determine whether a license is renewed.

That certainly makes sense. Most employees in most industries are judged by the quality of their finished products. Given the importance of their work, teachers should certainly be held to the same standard.

Of course the whiny Tennessee Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union, strenuously objects to the proposal. Union officials say many teachers are worried because flawed test data could possibly cause qualified teachers to lose their licenses, according to the Times-Post.

Not to worry, said Kelli Gauthier, spokeswoman for the state education department. There will be an appeals process built into the system to protect against such errors, she said.

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“However, habitually low performing teachers who receive the lowest possible test score of one for three of four years would not have their licenses renewed.”

Who could possible argue with such a logical policy? It’s time we started being more careful about who teaches our children. Kids deserve quality instruction, and Tennessee education officials may be taking a logical step to make sure they get it.