      CHAPTER 28--HIGHER EDUCATION RESOURCES AND STUDENT ASSISTANCE
 
    SUBCHAPTER II--TEACHER QUALITY ENHANCEMENT GRANTS FOR STATES AND 
                              PARTNERSHIPS
 
Sec. 1027. Accountability for programs that prepare teachers


(a) Development of definitions and reporting methods

    Within 9 months of October 7, 1998, the Commissioner of the National 
Center for Education Statistics, in consultation with States and 
institutions of higher education, shall develop key definitions for 
terms, and uniform reporting methods (including the key definitions for 
the consistent reporting of pass rates), related to the performance of 
elementary school and secondary school teacher preparation programs.

(b) State report card on quality of teacher preparation

    Each State that receives funds under this chapter shall provide to 
the Secretary, within 2 years of October 7, 1998, and annually 
thereafter, in a uniform and comprehensible manner that conforms with 
the definitions and methods established in subsection (a) of this 
section, a State report card on the quality of teacher preparation in 
the State, which shall include at least the following:
        (1) A description of the teacher certification and licensure 
    assessments, and any other certification and licensure requirements, 
    used by the State.
        (2) The standards and criteria that prospective teachers must 
    meet in order to attain initial teacher certification or licensure 
    and to be certified or licensed to teach particular subjects or in 
    particular grades within the State.
        (3) A description of the extent to which the assessments and 
    requirements described in paragraph (1) are aligned with the State's 
    standards and assessments for students.
        (4) The percentage of teaching candidates who passed each of the 
    assessments used by the State for teacher certification and 
    licensure, and the passing score on each assessment that determines 
    whether a candidate has passed that assessment.
        (5) The percentage of teaching candidates who passed each of the 
    assessments used by the State for teacher certification and 
    licensure, disaggregated and ranked, by the teacher preparation 
    program in that State from which the teacher candidate received the 
    candidate's most recent degree, which shall be made available widely 
    and publicly.
        (6) Information on the extent to which teachers in the State are 
    given waivers of State certification or licensure requirements, 
    including the proportion of such teachers distributed across high- 
    and low-poverty school districts and across subject areas.
        (7) A description of each State's alternative routes to teacher 
    certification, if any, and the percentage of teachers certified 
    through alternative certification routes who pass State teacher 
    certification or licensure assessments.
        (8) For each State, a description of proposed criteria for 
    assessing the performance of teacher preparation programs within 
    institutions of higher education in the State, including indicators 
    of teacher candidate knowledge and skills.
        (9) Information on the extent to which teachers or prospective 
    teachers in each State are required to take examinations or other 
    assessments of their subject matter knowledge in the area or areas 
    in which the teachers provide instruction, the standards established 
    for passing any such assessments, and the extent to which teachers 
    or prospective teachers are required to receive a passing score on 
    such assessments in order to teach in specific subject areas or 
    grade levels.

(c) Initial report

                           (1) In general

        Each State that receives funds under this chapter, not later 
    than 6 months of \1\ October 7, 1998, and in a uniform and 
    comprehensible manner, shall submit to the Secretary the information 
    described in paragraphs (1), (5), and (6) of subsection (b) of this 
    section. Such information shall be compiled by the Secretary and 
    submitted to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources of the 
    Senate and the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House 
    of Representatives not later than 9 months after October 7, 1998.
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    \1\ So in original. Probably should be ``after''.
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                          (2) Construction

        Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to require a State 
    to gather information that is not in the possession of the State or 
    the teacher preparation programs in the State, or readily available 
    to the State or teacher preparation programs.

(d) Report of Secretary on quality of teacher preparation

                           (1) Report card

        The Secretary shall provide to Congress, and publish and make 
    widely available, a report card on teacher qualifications and 
    preparation in the United States, including all the information 
    reported in paragraphs (1) through (9) of subsection (b) of this 
    section. Such report shall identify States for which eligible States 
    and eligible partnerships received a grant under this subchapter. 
    Such report shall be so provided, published and made available not 
    later than 2 years 6 months after October 7, 1998, and annually 
    thereafter.

                       (2) Report to Congress

        The Secretary shall report to Congress--
            (A) a comparison of States' efforts to improve teaching 
        quality; and
            (B) regarding the national mean and median scores on any 
        standardized test that is used in more than 1 State for teacher 
        certification or licensure.

                          (3) Special rule

        In the case of teacher preparation programs with fewer than 10 
    graduates taking any single initial teacher certification or 
    licensure assessment during an academic year, the Secretary shall 
    collect and publish information with respect to an average pass rate 
    on State certification or licensure assessments taken over a 3-year 
    period.

(e) Coordination

    The Secretary, to the extent practicable, shall coordinate the 
information collected and published under this subchapter among States 
for individuals who took State teacher certification or licensure 
assessments in a State other than the State in which the individual 
received the individual's most recent degree.

(f) Institutional report cards on quality of teacher preparation

                           (1) Report card

        Each institution of higher education that conducts a teacher 
    preparation program that enrolls students receiving Federal 
    assistance under this chapter, not later than 18 months after 
    October 7, 1998, and annually thereafter, shall report to the State 
    and the general public, in a uniform and comprehensible manner that 
    conforms with the definitions and methods established under 
    subsection (a) of this section, the following information:

        (A) Pass rate

            (i) For the most recent year for which the information is 
        available, the pass rate of the institution's graduates on the 
        teacher certification or licensure assessments of the State in 
        which the institution is located, but only for those students 
        who took those assessments within 3 years of completing the 
        program.
            (ii) A comparison of the program's pass rate with the 
        average pass rate for programs in the State.
            (iii) In the case of teacher preparation programs with fewer 
        than 10 graduates taking any single initial teacher 
        certification or licensure assessment during an academic year, 
        the institution shall collect and publish information with 
        respect to an average pass rate on State certification or 
        licensure assessments taken over a 3-year period.

        (B) Program information

            The number of students in the program, the average number of 
        hours of supervised practice teaching required for those in the 
        program, and the faculty-student ratio in supervised practice 
        teaching.

        (C) Statement

            In States that approve or accredit teacher education 
        programs, a statement of whether the institution's program is so 
        approved or accredited.

        (D) Designation as low-performing

            Whether the program has been designated as low-performing by 
        the State under section 1028(a) of this title.

                           (2) Requirement

        The information described in paragraph (1) shall be reported 
    through publications such as school catalogs and promotional 
    materials sent to potential applicants, secondary school guidance 
    counselors, and prospective employers of the institution's program 
    graduates.

                              (3) Fines

        In addition to the actions authorized in section 1094(c) of this 
    title, the Secretary may impose a fine not to exceed $25,000 on an 
    institution of higher education for failure to provide the 
    information described in this subsection in a timely or accurate 
    manner.

(Pub. L. 89-329, title II, Sec. 207, as added Pub. L. 105-244, title II, 
Sec. 201, Oct. 7, 1998, 112 Stat. 1632.)

                       References in Text

    This chapter, referred to in subsecs. (b), (c)(1), and (f)(1), was 
in the original ``this Act'', meaning Pub. L. 89-329, as amended, known 
as the Higher Education Act of 1965. For complete classification of this 
Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 1001 of this 
title and Tables.


                            Prior Provisions

    A prior section 1027, Pub. L. 89-329, title II, Sec. 207, Nov. 8, 
1965, 79 Stat. 1227; Pub. L. 92-318, title I, Sec. 131(d)(2)(B), June 
23, 1972, 86 Stat. 260, prohibited grants for library resources to be 
used for sectarian instruction or religious worship, prior to the 
general amendment of this subchapter by Pub. L. 96-374.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in sections 1023, 1028, 1029 of this 
title.
