possible. Hiring great teachers has little to do with whether an applicant holds a teaching certificate. We should let school administrators avail themselves of other sources of teaching ability.

For example, only half of math and science teachers actually hold a college degree in math or science, yet state law bars a retired engineer with a Ph.D. from teaching algebra in a public high school (although such teachers are allowed in private schools). It makes no sense to force a retired mathematician to attend School of Education courses for 18 months just to get a teaching certificate, or to expect mid-career professionals to give up more than a year's salary to go back to school.

In addition to attracting top talent, constant and continual improvement should be a part of the teaching culture. In order for teachers to gain new skills, they need honest and constructive assessments of their work. As in other professional fields, frequent performance reviews should be the norm in teaching. Reviews should comprise both in-class

observations as well as less frequent, but at least annual, formal performance reviews, especially in the early years of a teacher's career. These performance assessments should be the primary responsibility of the school principal.

Increasing the number of helping hands in the classroom can better leverage the teaching bandwidth that is already stretched thin. We should increase the number of adults in the classroom who can assist and complement the teacher. School leaders should be allowed to recruit interns, parents, volunteers, Teach for America, Teach Corps members and other creative sources of instructional talent to help students learn.