Philissa Cramer, the managing editor of Gotham Schools, explains on WNYC's the Brian Lehrer Show the changes to the state's certification system for teachers. New York and up to 25 other states are looking to ensure that those who become teachers can perform well in the classroom.

The issue was outlined in a report by Al Baker on Monday. He wrote:

The model for evaluating educators, known as Teacher Performance Assessment, was designed by Stanford University, with input from more than 600 educators, including university professors, across the country. In New York, the system will be introduced in the fall at all 130 education schools and colleges that award teaching degrees.

“It is very analogous to authentic assessments in other professions, in nursing, in medical residencies, in architecture,” said Raymond L. Pecheone, a professor of practice at Stanford who leads the center that developed the new assessment. “In its most basic form, we collect authentic artifacts of teaching that all teachers use on the job.”

Under the system, a teacher’s daily lesson plans, handouts and assignments will be reviewed, in addition to their logs about what works, what does not and why. Videos of student teachers will be scrutinized for moments when critical topics — ratios and proportions in math, for instance — are discussed. Teachers will also be judged on their ability to deepen reasoning and problem-solving skills, to gauge how students are learning and to coax their class to cooperate in tackling learning challenges.

Calling in to WNYC, Kim, a 12-year teacher in the city, said graduate school was interesting but not especially helpful. She thinks more observation and in-field assessments would help teachers in training.

"Mostly everything I learned, I learned in the classroom," she said. "I learned in observing other teachers."