Dive Summary:

• The American Federation of Teachers, one of the nation's largest teachers unions, called Monday for a stringent exam and tougher entrance requirements for teacher training programs.
• The proposal suggests that the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards--a nonprofit group that administers the National Board Certification program--to lead the development of the new test and is part of a much broader report on raising the status of the teaching profession.
• In addition to the exam, the proposal also asks that a 3.0 GPA, formal interviews and 10 hours of field experience be required for entrance into teacher education programs, and the union's executive council will consider its approval at a February meeting.

From the article:

WASHINGTON (AP) — Schoolteachers should have to pass a stringent exam — much like the bar exam for lawyers — before being allowed to enter the profession, one of the nation's largest teachers unions said Monday. The American Federation of Teachers called for a tough new written test to be complimented by stricter entrance requirements for teacher training programs, such as a minimum grade point average. "It's time to do away with a common rite of passage into the teaching profession, whereby newly minted teachers are tossed the keys to their classrooms, expected to figure things out, and left to see if they and their students sink or swim," said AFT President Randi Weingarten, calling that system unfair to students and teachers alike. ...