Teachers may be required to take test

Some education majors in Iowa may be required to pass a competancy testbefore graduation. A bill passed by the Senate would require a “basicskills” ENTRANCE test for potential teachers. Senator Maggie Tinsman, arepublican from Bettendorf, says every student deserves a well-preparedteacher. The bill has already passed the House. Representative RosemaryThompson, a republican from Marion, says it makes sense to test prospectiveteachers for knowledge in the subject area teachers will be covering in theclassroom.The pre-graduation competancy testing will be done on a random, experimentalbasis and may be abandoned if Iowa schools are found to be graduatingcompetant teachers.