Can you take dictation? Prescribing teacher quality through testing

The new teacher testing initiatives present a new opportunity and a new cha llenge to clarify thinking about the nature of the teaching profession and about the preparation of well-qualified individuals to meet the impending s hortage of teachers for the nation 's schools. This article examines recent implementation of the controversial Massachusetts Educator Certification T ests and the educational, legal, and public policy issues in the implementa tion of a teacher testing program.