Calling the schools that train America’s teachers an “industry of mediocrity,” our friends at the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) issued a devastating report on teacher-training programs at colleges and universities across America.
Based on objective evaluations of the standards, curricula, and outcomes at teacher-preparation programs, the NCTQ Teacher Prep Review found that the overwhelming majority of teacher-education programs do not properly prepare teachers to work in the classroom. Among the findings:
The effects of weak preparation are striking: so many teachers are trained in low-quality programs that completing a teacher-training program appears to make no difference in the quality of a teacher’s work. Only select, strong programs add real value to teachers in training—and the NCTQ study helps to identify them.
But those programs are not necessarily famous or exclusive: many little-known programs are quietly doing excellent work, turning out well-trained teachers each year by focusing on the essentials of teaching and subject-matter knowledge.
At ACTA we are delighted to see NCTQ’s contribution to a field that has interested us for many years. Our publications, Educating Teachers and Teachers Who Can, warned about low standards and weak curricula at education programs and showed trustees how to demand accountability at their institutions. Trustees—especially those whose institutions offer teacher-preparation programs—should read this report carefully and insist that their institutions improve.
Sandra Stotsky has devoted her entire career to maintaining high standards in American education, particularly in the training of teachers. As Senior Associate Commissioner in the Massachusetts Department of Education, she directed the revision of Massachusetts’ K–12 curriculum standards, as well as the regulations for teacher licensure and licensure testing. Together, these formed the essential elements of […]
This step-by-step guide outlines the principles and criteria for an excellent teacher preparation program, gives examples of real-life programs that work, provides models for boards to adapt to their own situation, and outlines an action plan for trustees. It is the second of two publications by the Trustees for Better Teachers project, a multi-year initiative […]
WASHINGTON, DC—The Trustees for Better Teachers project, a major new effort to mobilize college and university trustees to raise standards in teacher education programs, was launched today by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA). Trustees participating in the project will be asked to conduct board reviews of the quality of their colleges’ teacher […]
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