I guess it's fine for incoming teachers to pass a subject matter test. Where states have missed the boat is HOUSSE -- the "high, objective, uniform state standard of evaluation" for the subject-area proficiency of veteran teachers. A lot of states have adopted HOUSSEs that measure inputs -- coursework, professional-development time, etc.
The test of teacher knowledge ought to be whether the kids learn the subject. Problem is, you can only measure that in a "high, uniform...etc" way if you have valid longitudinal data about how kids do as they pass from one teacher to another. That's hard to come by in some content areas like sophomore-year biology, where the teacher only has the kids for a year and teaches different material from the other teachers. Someone will come up with a way to measure that via student outcomes.
Meanwhile, at least in the math/reading domains that are central to NCLB accountability, we will soon have plentiful year-to-year data about teacher proficiency. Charters are uniquely positioned to demonstrate that "quality" can be measured this way. I hope that states and the feds let them try it out.
Posted as a reply to:
NCLB's "Highly Qualified Teachers" Requirement and Charters by Bob Montgomery 
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