NCTQ Publications

False Assurances: Many states' licensure tests don't signal whether elementary teachers understand reading instruction

Hannah Putman November 2023

In a new analysis, the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) finds that most states (29 states and the District of Columbia) use a weak elementary teacher reading licensure test, meaning that they do not effectively measure teachers' knowledge of scientifically based reading instruction prior to entering the classroom. One state, Iowa, requires no reading licensure test at all. This shortcoming means that, every year, nearly 100,000 elementary teachers across the country enter classrooms with...

Licensing requirements, National, Licensing tests, Reading, Teacher diversity, Licensure

Read publication

State of the States 2023: Policies to Increase Teacher Diversity

Abigail Swisher August 2023

Despite robust research that shows that teachers of color increase positive academic, social-emotional, and behavioral outcomes for all students, particularly students of color, new data and analysis from the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) suggest a variety of ways state education leaders and policymakers could do more to increase teacher diversity.

National, Hiring and Assignment, Mentorship and Induction, Differentiated pay, Retention strategies, Teacher diversity

Read publication

Teacher Prep Review: Strengthening Elementary Reading Instruction

June 2023

Giving teachers the knowledge and skills they need to teach reading effectively is fundamental for improving life outcomes for all children and reversing historical patterns of inequity. New data and analysis from the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) provides the most up-to-date information available on the extent to which nearly 700 teacher preparation programs across the country prepare aspiring teachers to teach children to read. Download the full report or view a summary of...

Reading, Teacher Prep

Read publication

Teacher Prep Review: Building Content Knowledge

Christie Ellis, Shannon Holston February 2023

New data and analysis from NCTQ finds significant opportunities for teacher preparation programs to improve their coursework requirements to ensure that aspiring elementary school teachers receive the essential social studies and science content knowledge they need for the classroom. The new report shows that while most teacher preparation programs have sufficient course options available, only 3% require aspiring teachers to complete courses in most of the social studies and science topics an elementary teacher needs...

Subject matter knowledge, Social studies , Science , Teacher Prep

Read publication

Do States Have the Data they Need to Answer Important Questions about their Teacher Workforce?

Patricia Saenz-Armstrong December 2022

Given both the importance—and dearth—of nuanced, local data on teacher supply and demand, NCTQ set out to understand the key data elements states are currently collecting, which data is missing, and the level of detail that is needed to meaningfully answer essential questions about the teacher workforce. In a new state policy brief, we share the results of a survey of state education agencies on the extent to which they collect data on 39 distinct...

Supply and Demand, Equitable distribution, Shortage areas, State role

Read publication

State of the States 2022: Teacher and Principal Evaluation Policies

Abigail Swisher, Patricia Saenz-Armstrong November 2022

Results of the 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress reveal alarming results: Since 2019, scores declined substantially for all students, while disparities widened for students already most affected by opportunity gaps. As districts and states help students recover in the wake of a global pandemic, supporting teachers and principals by recognizing strong performance, and helping them grow and improve where necessary, is more urgent than ever.

Observations, State role, Evaluation, Student growth

Read publication

State of the States 2022: Teacher Compensation Strategies

Patricia Saenz-Armstrong September 2022

Salaries are one of the most powerful policy levers states and school districts can use to attract qualified, effective, and diverse teachers. However, strategic pay remains underutilized as a tool to attract teachers to the schools or subjects that are traditionally harder to staff. Similarly, few states have policies that consider performance in salary schedules or reward prior relevant work experience in order to attract career switchers to the teaching profession. This report examines the...

Supply and Demand, Differentiated pay, Shortage areas, State role

Read publication

Digging Deeper: Which types of institutions achieve excellence and equity for aspiring teachers of color?

Hannah Putman July 2022

Building a more diverse teacher workforce is essential to addressing educational inequity for students of color. In this analysis, NCTQ considers teacher licensure test pass rate data through the lenses of excellence and racial equity, highlighting those teacher prep institutions that achieve racial equity in their pass rates, pointing toward promising practices that others can adopt, and proving that high pass rates for aspiring teachers of color are entirely achievable.

Licensing tests, Teacher Prep, Licensure, Teacher diversity

Read publication

Teacher Prep Review: Preparation in Elementary Mathematics

Graham Drake, Kate Walsh, Shannon Holston May 2022

Improving instruction in elementary mathematics is critical to supporting better academic and life outcomes for our students. While weak elementary math instruction is not a new challenge, the COVID-19 pandemic appears to have exacerbated the issue. Many states have reported that students have lost more learning in math than in reading over the past two years, and pre-existing gaps in math achievement between low-poverty and high-poverty schools and between majority-White and majority-Black schools have worsened...

Math, Teacher Prep, Licensure

Read publication

Ensuring Students' Equitable Access to Qualified and Effective Teachers

Kate Walsh, Shannon Holston, Shayna Levitan April 2022

How states have responded to a 2015 federal law that they collect and report on the equitable distribution of teacher talent across their schools.

Hiring and Assignment, Equitable distribution, Federal role, State role

Read publication

State of the States 2021: State Reporting of Teacher Supply and Demand Data

Patricia Saenz-Armstrong December 2021

What data do states collect and report on the teacher labor market? Do states connect data on supply and demand to better understand and address teacher shortages? Explore state policies in this new NCTQ report.

Supply and Demand, Shortage areas, State role, Hiring

Search nctq.org

Training and Recruitment

Staffing

Evaluation and Support

Compensation

Publications

Policy Issues

Topics

Authors

Date range

We use cookies