In gratitude - A final message from Kate Walsh
Doing this job has been the privilege of a lifetime, shaping and championing better teacher policies across the nation.
Four responsible steps states can take NOW to fill classrooms
It's high time to implement specific and strategic policies to address teacher shortages.
Are teachers quitting?
Given how disruptive it is for schools to deal with even a single absent teacher, you'd think we would know...
The rise and fall of better teacher evaluation: Who gets the blame?
Even reasonably sensible ideas that are grounded in strong research still have difficulty overcoming what invariably gets thrown at them.
When school breaks no longer spark joy
Why should anyone care that schools take a little break, especially given all that teachers have been through over the...
Lamenting the poor lot of student teaching
When we sow benign neglect, it's no wonder we reap mediocrity.
The backstory on dislodging pass rate data
Twenty three years after the U.S. Congress first tried to dislodge the pass rates on teacher licensing tests, the dam...
Reflections on Starbucks and rural teaching shortages
To attract teachers to rural areas we either have to come up with a significant and steady infusion of cash—or...
These states deserve a round of applause
Some remarkable progress is being made by Arkansas, North Carolina, Colorado, and Texas on the teacher quality agenda.
Learning from the vaccine rollout
Just as the U.S. managed one of the most successful rollouts of COVID vaccines of any nation, so too can...
Could it be that teacher certification does in fact matter?
Lo and behold, it turns out that stricter certification requirements do appear to pay off—but not for the reasons that...
An ode to the pandemic and parents
While no one wanted a pandemic—the damage is incalculable—it gets full credit for taking us off-kilter.
The wind at our backs on diversifying the teaching profession
No longer is it appropriate to decouple the goal of improving teacher quality from parallel efforts to increase the number...
Relearning what it means to be an American
What role should our nation's schools play in fostering an informed electorate?
Are we done with teacher licensing tests?
Are teacher licensing tests a milestone to achieve or an obstacle to be removed?
October surprises
Science has taken some really hard knocks in 2020. Over the past week, however, science had a couple of well-needed...
A bottom-up approach to school openings
Never much a defender of local control in education, I now think we have nothing to lose by shifting some...
Challenging the comfortably entrenched with the Teacher Prep Review
Over a century ago, former school principal Abraham Flexner catalyzed the reform of medical education, producing an exhaustive report and...
A message from Kate Walsh
This is a grave time. As we try our best to weather this storm, we find ourselves asking a lot...
A win for CA students, but not necessarily for science
The settlement agreement in CA still tiptoes around the most likely reason these kids aren't reading.
Is it too early to pop the bubbly?
While the success we see in adoption of reading science among teacher prep programs really is cause for celebration, I...
Getting at the root of the school to prison pipeline
Is the reason Americans tolerate unnecessarily high rates of kids who never learn how to read yet another manifestation of...
If they could do it, so can we
I look back to my sisters of a century or more ago, who fought a lot harder for a lot...
Can public education find its mosquito net?
In journalist Natalie Wexler's powerful new book, The Knowledge Gap, she sets out to make the case for the critical...
Case closed
If a picture is worth a thousand words, I'm thinking that these two images should have long ago put an...
Teacher Pay: When baby steps just aren’t enough
If we want to increase the number of teachers who believe that the teaching profession is valued by society from...
Inequities in the classroom: When the only thing missing is the will to act
In spite of a federal law requiring states to take action to ameliorate the inequitable distribution of teacher talent, many...
The high price of putting our heads in the sand
I know teacher evaluation is now considered toxic, but I've never been one to shy away from tilting at windmills.
Life lessons from a trip to the hospital
No matter how much I am inclined to trust someone else's expertise, I need to be my own best advocate.
Why the big yawn?
There's a big push in many states and among the edu-policy crowd to do away teacher licensing tests.
An open letter to all who care about making sure every child in America learns to read
As our nation embarks upon a new year, we must acknowledge a sobering reality…
Fretting about good research
Angela Duckworth caught our collective imagination a few years ago when she put forward the notion that grit is a greater contributor...
Ponderings on black beans, teacher quality, and the ghosts of Christmas future
My enthusiasm for new diets is a source of great amusement to my kids, surpassed only by my ability to...
Teacher pay matters. So does pay policy
Pay matters. The importance of pay generally isn't disputed, except when it comes to teachers.
Because you probably haven’t been paying attention…
Take your eyes off the pounding surf for a moment to read my top three interesting developments worth noting.
Is a teachers union that doesn’t fight every dismissal still a teachers union?
The public may not have much noticed the Janus v. AFSCME decision from the US Supreme Court, but the unions...
Statement on the decision in Janus vs. AFSCME
The Supreme Court's decision to end unions' ability to collect "agency fees" from nonconsenting employees puts the onus squarely on...
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Drowning in data from the OECD
Though I've never considered myself an isolationist, I am increasingly questioning the value of looking beyond American borders for insights...
Teacher strikes: on the wisdom of restraint
Teachers who had been getting a particularly bad deal stood up to advocate for change in their states, but while...
Is NCTQ’s Teacher Prep Review actually having an impact?
In just a couple of weeks NCTQ will be releasing an updated set of ratings for graduate and alternative route...
DC's Fair Weather Friends
Okay, I'm on a bit of a rant. I've now written here, here, and here about education advocates doing...
Has the education movement lost its way?
The fall conference season is well behind us, but a bad taste in my mouth lingers.
Can teachers afford a place to call home?
Permit me to draw my inspiration from scripture, referencing the basic human needs of clothes on our backs, food to...
Disproving the prophets of teacher shortages
Too often in education, education groups' pursuit of validation for their policy priorities and the media's desire for a strong...
Silent Progress on Education
If you're anything like me, you can't help but grow really discouraged at what seems like a lack of progress...
Wanted: Teachers! No reading or writing required
Over the last few months, a whole bunch of states -- including Arizona, Minnesota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, New York,...
NCTQ names 16 programs to “Top Tier"
With today's release of NCTQ's newest teacher prep ratings, we single out 16 programs as the "Top Tier." These programs...
Is it easier to prepare high school teachers than elementary teachers?
NCTQ's new report on teacher prep programs provides an updated perspective on how well some 700 colleges and universities are...
The challenge of learning from others' mistakes
April 13, 2017 Dear State Legislator: First let's get the obvious points out of the way. I get...
Positive Reinforcement for Great Districts for Great Teachers
Over the course of NCTQ's first decade, I'll admit to having struggled a bit to figure out how to influence...
NCTQ Paper Finds Most Teachers Still Rated Effective Despite State Reforms
I saw this headline in my clips and did a double take, wondering if The Onion had begun mocking education...
Ed Reformer: Does self interest make us Debbie downers?
For over 50 years, Americans have worried about our students' mediocre performance on international tests. A single-minded focus on rankings--not...
NCTQ’s Teacher Prep Review Paints a Landscape of Undergraduate Elementary Teacher Preparation
Today, NCTQ is excited to share the latest results in our ongoing analysis of teacher prep programs, this time focusing...
Obeying the Laws of Supply and Demand Averts Teacher Shortages
Every consumer knows how the law of supply and demand affects prices. When demand is higher than supply, the price...
How not to respond to criticism
It's not surprising that teacher educators feel defensive these days. They frequently face accusations for their allegedly inferior quality programs. Non-traditional training...
We never thought it would happen but US ED releases its teacher prep regs
At long last the US Department of Education released its teacher prep regulations this week, prompting me to check my calendar. I had...
The Ghost of Teacher Shortages Past...
Here's something I've been struggling to understand of late. What makes the prospect of a teacher shortage such an immediately...
Teacher diversity: Grounding our goals in reality
One feature of an ideal school environment, we believe, is that both students and their teachers reflect America in all of...
When it comes to teacher quality, do states really matter?
Of late, I've been holding my own internal debate. Is getting states to change their teacher policies worth all the...
Preschool teacher prep: illusions of quality
30 million words. It's a staggering number representing the tremendous gap in the number of utterances (not distinct words) a child hears...
Three reasons why every teacher prep program should adopt the edTPA…or not.
Over the last few decades, the field of teacher education has heavily promoted the use and even the mandatory adoption by...
A drummed up teacher shortage crisis
Isn't it amazing how someone or some things gain traction when the facts clearly aren't on their side? Just like...
Charterizing Teacher Prep?
Of late, there's been a lot of chatter among teacher educators objecting to language in ESSA for "teacher preparation academies," relatively regulation-free...
Pay attention, everybody- DC's on a roll
What happens in DC has the potential to impact districts across the entire nation.
What teacher candidates won't find in their textbooks
Over the holidays, I ran into an old colleague from back when I was doing a lot of work in Baltimore...
Diversity in the Teaching Workforce: False Choices and Faulty Tactics
We can all agree that building a more diverse corps of teachers is important. While only a few studies have...
Curriculum: The Great Divide among Ed Reformers
A few weeks ago Whitney Tilson, writing in his always entertaining blog, gave a nice nod to an op-ed by Dan Willingham in...
Can student teaching be the driver for teacher quality?
I can be a slow learner.My colleagues at NCTQ and I have been working together on teacher quality for well...
Is it better to look like a good idea than be one?
Student teaching is intended to be the culminating experience of a teacher's preparation. It's typically a fall or spring semester commitment. Over...
Getting great teachers takes high standards
Raising standards is hard. But as painful as it is to decide that not everyone is cut out to teach or...
Are big teacher shortages around the corner?
Today, a test of your policy chops. What do the following three statements have in common? 1. It's been X years since A...
My lawn chair cost me $50,000
At least that is what I would like to believe. This past September, America Succeeds hosted its inaugural conference in Boise, Idaho....
A call to higher educators: Let's have an honest debate about teacher prep
Most people who took the time to read NYT Motoko Rich's article about the training methods used by Aspire charter schools in...
Is NCTQ litigious?
Americans increasingly agree that the gateway into teaching ought to be a whole lot tougher. Findings released this week from...
Is NCTQ litigious?
Americans increasingly agree that the gateway into teaching ought to be a whole lot tougher. Findings released this week from...
TPR 2014: Slowly, the teacher prep mountain begins to move
Ever so slowly, the United States is taking a harder look at how its teacher preparation schools are improving the...
Minnesota student teaching placement bill fails
Lawmakers stop a sensible bill for not so sensible reasons
Rulemaking on teacher prep programs returns to center stage, NCTQ endorses DOE's action
Today, the Department of Education has taken a bold step in ensuring every future teacher graduates classroom-ready. Teachers and students...
North Carolina's tenure shenanigans
What would you give up for $500?
Who's tougher? State bureaucrats or states' constitutions?
Whose job is it to fix this problem?
Illinois ed schools recognize what state does not
Good going, Illinois deans!
NCTQ announces new board officers
We are pleased to announce that former Florida schools' chief John Winn has been elected the new chair of NCTQ's...
We have to build it first. Then they'll come.
Why isn't Harvard churning out teachers?
Re-stirring the already stirred alt cert research pot
It's time to ask different questions
What gives? Is Chicago not far off from Detroit's pension woes?
A double standard in Illinois teacher pension systems?
The facts in a syllabus
Abraham Flexner isn't the only father of the Teacher Prep Review
Sneak peek on our Review: More evidence of fiefdoms in higher ed
Teacher prep programs on the same campus are generally not the same at all
Are teacher educators trapped?
Can teacher educators serve two masters?
Comment-Worthy Clips
Ideas and Idealogues
Relieving teacher anxiety on test scores
Good news on VAM fairness issues
LA: There aren't any winners in this deal
L.A.'s new eval system isn't good for teachers, the district, or the union.
Panning for teacher talent takes more than one tool
Selective admissions is only part of the puzzle
Build it and they will come
Lessons for teacher prep from a YMCA spin class
A visit to an ed school
Post #1 in a short series
Here's the deal on the deal (updated)
We've thought a lot about the strike in Chicago over the last nine days. Today we took some time...
edTPA: Slow this train down
A big initiative requires big data
Loving children is not enough
The public thinks we need more selective ed school admissions
The art of becoming a teacher: Lessons from 1892
A teacher candidate portfolio that met a high bar
How much leave do teachers get?
The first apples-to-apples comparison of teacher leave benefits: Where does your district rank?
Which of these programs are the real top ten in teacher prep?
Elite teacher prep programs often fall short