POSTED BY FROSTY TROY

Teachers who meet the “highly qualified” state-set standard were teaching core subjects in 94% of the nation’s classrooms in the 2006-07 school year.

Poorer schools were still less likely than their wealthier counterparts to employ them.

In some states, the gap was glaring: 95% of elementary classes in low-poverty schools in Maryland were staffed with highly qualified teachers, compared with only 66% in poorer schools.

The “highly qualified” teacher requirement is a provision of the six-year-old No Child Left Behind Act.

All states must report annually the percentage of core-subject classes taught by highly qualified teachers and break down the numbers for classes in high-poverty schools.