Findings: Elementary math
None of the special education programs that we evaluated—undergraduate or graduate—met our standard. The reason is that no program requires at least eight semester hours, the amount of coursework necessary both to adequately address the deficiencies in math typically found in elementary teacher candidates and to develop conceptual—not mechanical—proficiency. However, commendably, a higher percentage of undergraduate special education programs nearly meet the standard when compared to undergraduate elementary programs (38 percent compared to 31 percent). Given this fact, it is surprising that nearly every graduate special education program except Chicago State University failed to meet the standard because they require no elementary content coursework at all (eight programs).
How Illinois teacher preparation programs fare on this standard
