The National Council on Teacher Quality gave the state's teacher policies an overall grade of D+, up from a D in its last report in 2009. More than half the states in the U.S. received a D+ or lower this year.
The research and advocacy group assessed states on 36 policy goals that it believes foster the most effective teachers, and offered grades in five areas.
The 163-page report praised Pennsylvania's preparation of middle school teachers and elementary reading instructors. It also highlighted the state's decision to get rid of the K-12 special education certification in favor of separate elementary and secondary certifications.
Such distinct expertise is crucial to helping special education students, council vice president Sandi Jacobs said Wednesday.
"That K-12 license is just so outdated in the 21st century," Jacobs said. "Pennsylvania is at the front of the group of states that have recognized that."
Pennsylvania improved in three categories, receiving a C in delivering well-prepared teachers, up from a D+; a C in expanding the teaching pool, up from a C-; and a D+ in identifying effective teachers, up from a D. It maintained a D+ in retaining effective teachers.
But Pennsylvania flunked when it comes to dismissing ineffective teachers. The state had received a D- in 2009.
The state mandates that seniority - not performance - be considered when layoffs are necessary, Jacobs said. Pennsylvania also allows multiple appeals of dismissals, which she said needlessly drags out the process.
Education Department spokesman Tim Eller said that despite the poor grades given to the state, Gov. Tom Corbett and Education Secretary Ronald Tomalis "are focused on ensuring that high-quality, effective teachers are in classrooms across Pennsylvania."
"Without a doubt, the quality of the individual in front of the classroom is the most important factor for student success," Eller said in a statement.
Corbett is pushing for statewide implementation of a teacher evaluation system now being tested in more than 100 districts.
State law currently precludes student performance from being used to evaluate the approximately 130,000 teachers in Pennsylvania. But legislation pending in the House would base 50 percent of an educator's assessment on multiple measures of student achievement, including tests.
This approach is very much in line with the council's policy recommendations for teacher evaluation, and mirrors the kind of movement seen in many other states this year, Jacobs said.
Wythe Keever, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania State Education Association, the state's largest teachers union, said the pilot evaluation program has some good elements. Lawmakers should wait until it's finished before pushing evaluation-related legislation, he said.
"We agree ... that the current teacher evaluation system is broken and needs significant repair," Keever said.
The council's highest grade for teacher policies went to Florida, which earned a B. That's an improvement from two years ago, when the top state received a C, Jacobs said.
"We're tough graders," she said. "We don't grade on a curve."
