Ed. Dept gets federal approval of HQT program

The Arkansas plan stated that 85 percent of classes requiring a highly qualified teacher met those criteria, with a fairly equal distribution between poor and high minority schools. Math is the subject in Arkansas with the lowest percentage of classes being taught by highly qualified teachers. The Arkansas plan also has revised procedures for requiring teachers who do not have highly qualified status to meet the criteria within a given point of time. Areas requiring highly qualified teachers include: English, mathematics, science, social studies, art, music, foreign languages, pre-kindergarten through fourth grade, middle level grades, special education and alternative learning classes. Highly qualified teachers are those with an Arkansas teaching license who demonstrate mastery of their subject areas by meeting one of the following criteria: - Have passed the appropriate Praxis exam for subject content they teach - Hold National Board Certification for the subject area in which they teach - Have majored in or have a majority of college credit hours in the subject in which they teach - Meet the qualifications of AR HOUSSE, which considers experience, professional development, college/university courses taken as well as professional leadership roles. (Copyright 2006 Newsroom Solutions, LLC) Delivered by Newsroom Solutions/Regional News Service