331 results found
Districts miss an opportunity to improve teacher effectiveness and strengthen their hiring pipelines if they don't support strong student teaching experiences. New NCTQ data identifies which large U.S. school districts...
Teachers improve rapidly in their first years in the classroom. New research seeks to identify strategies that can move more of this growth to their pre-service training.
This reading teacher wasn't prepared to teach students who struggled to read. Thanks to a training program that taught her structured literacy, she can now help all students become strong...
As increasing numbers of schools, districts, and states embrace and invest in a scientifically based approach to teaching reading, some are bound to wonder about the efficacy of their efforts.
Teacher preparation isn't a sprint; it's a marathon. And just like preparing for a long race, it requires well-planned practice, feedback, and the guidance of experts.
Too many new teachers start their careers unprepared for the realities of the classroom because they haven't had enough high-quality "hands on" practice. Their students lose out on learning because...
Effective teacher prep depends on a high-quality clinical practice experience. There is an ever-growing variety of preparation models available to aspiring teachers. Yet to date, the field has not galvanized...
New research found measurable differences in teacher quality between different generations of teachers—with Baby Boomers being least effective.
Apprenticeships offer a promising model to help expand and diversify the teacher workforce. But NCTQ President Heather Peske cautions: We're long on enthusiasm for apprenticeships and short on the details...
This literature review, aligned to NCTQ's Clinical Practice Framework, explores various components of clinical practice and how they affect a range of outcomes, including aspiring teachers' feelings of preparedness, their...
State education leaders shouldn't work alone to enact teacher-focused reading policies, writes NCTQ President Heather Peske. Instead, they can look to states that have already blazed the trail and laid...
A new report explores why some teachers don't use standards-aligned curriculum materials. Here's what states and districts should do to ensure teachers feel empowered and supported to use high-quality materials.
For states to succeed in their efforts to improve reading instruction, they must ensure teachers are prepared to implement and sustain scientifically based reading instruction.
NCTQ's Teacher Quality Bulletin distills the latest education research into clear, actionable information for education leaders. From topics like effective reading instruction to teacher diversity, here are the posts that...
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,...
Five actions education leaders can take to tap into the power of background knowledge.
Every year, countless English learning students pass through our education system without getting the help they need. And for each one, a teacher is left feeling frustrated, or confused, and...
To learn about state priorities in the coming years, NCTQ surveyed education leaders, advocacy groups, and researchers across the country.
Do state leaders suffer from a lack of strategy? To really connect the dots and make an impact, states need to simultaneously prioritize teacher quality and learning outcomes.
Teachers need to be constant learners to keep up with an ever-changing landscape. But professional development can vary a lot, which makes it hard to know what will ultimately help...
How popular of a career choice is teaching? New data analysis shows trends in teacher prep program enrollment and completion.
Little is know about paraprofessionals in the classroom, but a recent study in Washington sheds some much-needed light on these important players.
Teachers demand better training on how to teach reading. Teacher prep programs ought to do more
What can districts do to secure teachers prepared to teach scientifically based reading instruction?
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.
Together we can address the literacy crisis head-on, reversing historical patterns of inequity and changing the lives of millions of our children.
As states quicklyshifted requirements for teacher licensure in the early days of the pandemic,some also saw an opportunity to learn from the responses they put in place.
Teachers can choose from different instructional approaches, such as direct instruction, open discussion, and others, but which approach is the most effective? Does the best instructional approach depend on the...
https://www.nctq.org/blog/Gambling-with-childrens-futuresand-no-ones-tracking-whether-we-win-or-lose
Almost no one is tracking the impact recent policy decisions have on student learning and how they perpetuate educational inequity.
New research examines the impact of career and technical education teachers who entered the profession through different pathways.
What if states applied the "seat belt" policy approach to solving our current mathematics education crisis?
Policymakers are overlooking teacher prep as a critical force in promoting teacher quality and better outcomes for students.
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...
I was recently reading a NASA article with my 12-year-old child about the dynamics of flight and was struck by the important role content knowledge played in helping her make...
The most-read Teacher Quality Bulletin posts of 2022 reflect the questions, overturned assumptions, and trade-offs that face education leaders.
What many still don't recognize is that teachers' reading instruction changes the wiring in children's brains.
Parents and families must be part of the partnership to help students gain back their academic footing.
Temporary gains accompanied by longer-term challenges.
A new RAND Corporation survey asked teachers what would be the most effective strategies to recruit and retain more teachers of color.
Beyond the important areas outlined in the Secretary's remarks, we see two big challenges to the goal of access and equity to quality teachers that have yet to be addressed.
Who wants someone who has not demonstrated their knowledge and skills to be trusted with landing the plane? Teaching is no different.
Many states are moving to eliminate existing measures of content knowledge for aspiring teachers, citing concerns around possible teacher shortages.
These states' efforts illustrate multiple approaches to help aspiring teachers to mitigate the cost burden of testing fees.
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...
Now is the moment to chart a new path forward.
How school districts can use NCTQ's Teacher Prep Review Elementary Math standard findings in their recruiting and hiring decisions
Do teachers who return to the district they graduated from have a competitive edge over other beginning teachers?
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...
Doing this job has been the privilege of a lifetime, shaping and championing better teacher policies across the nation.
People have life coaches, nutrition coaches, and executive coaches. So, it's no surprise to see schools turning to coaches as well.
As the challenge of recruiting a new generation of teachers gains increasing urgency, what's old is being made new again.
Assigning elementary teachers to teach only their best subjects, also known as "teacher specialization," holds a lot of appeal...
NCTQ President Kate Walsh hosts a panel discussion on how the edTPA affects the teaching profession with leading researchers in the field of educator preparation.
Our nation's educators and students are exhausted and embattled, but not beaten.
A round-up of NCTQ's most-read District Trendline blog posts from 2021.
Elementary teachers have a big job. Unlike secondary teachers, they need to know not just one subject well, but four. Elementary teachers are expected to teach English language arts, math,...
It is clear that neither word recognition nor comprehension at the expense of each other produces successful readers.
There's clear evidence that teachers are more effective reading instructors with special education students when both their preservice preparation and their school district emphasize evidence-based reading practices.
When we sow benign neglect, it's no wonder we reap mediocrity.
- Updated August 2021 - Most states continue to lack a comprehensive set of policies to improve teacher knowledge of evidence-based early reading methods. This excerpt from NCTQ's State of...
Twenty three years after the U.S. Congress first tried to dislodge the pass rates on teacher licensing tests, the dam has been broken.
Elementary teachers need to know the content they will teach.
The NCTQ publication of long-hidden data on institutional pass rates for elementary content teacher licensure tests serves as a compass, pointing toward strengths and opportunities in preparing aspiring elementary teachers...
A new study focused on Massachusetts finds a direct link between its performance rating of providers with the future effectiveness of providers' graduates in classrooms.
Information gleaned from licensure tests can offer a compass, guiding efforts to strengthen and diversify the teacher workforce.
Strengthening our teacher workforce begins with better, more transparent data.
https://www.nctq.org/blog/Back-to-the-basics-to-boost-reading-results:-QA-with-TSUs-Dr.-Jerri-Haynes
Tennessee State University's Dr. Jerri Haynes on how their college of education worked to ensure its teacher candidates were better prepared to teach elementary students how to read.
The University of North Carolina's Dr. Laura Bilbro-Berry discusses how the UNC System created a structured framework to help improve what future elementary teachers learn about reading instruction across all...
Some remarkable progress is being made by Arkansas, North Carolina, Colorado, and Texas on the teacher quality agenda.
Policymakers and teacher prep programs often claim there's an extremely limited pool of effective mentor teachers when pairing them with student-teachers. A new study aims to find out if that's...
A new study adds to the mix research that unpacks which candidates particularly benefit from high-quality student teaching placements.
Just as the U.S. managed one of the most successful rollouts of COVID vaccines of any nation, so too can we dramatically improve the literacy rate in the nation.
Do state policies have an impact on who enters teacher preparation and what is the impact of program' admissions requirements on teacher candidate enrollment?
With the significant infusion of dollars now available to both states and school districts, we have a unique opportunity to finally reduce high rates of illiteracy, particularly in populations which...
To cultivate the type of learning environment that would support and sustain candidates of color there are three areas to consider: community, curriculum, and communication.
Lo and behold, it turns out that stricter certification requirements do appear to pay off—but not for the reasons that have all that much to do with what happens inside...
A new tool designed to help districts identify sources of academically strong, diverse teacher candidates and better target recruitment efforts.
NCTQ examines state policy trends that govern some of the most essential aspects of teacher preparation, from reading and content knowledge licensure exams to admissions and basic skills test requirements.
Teacher preparation residencies have the benefit of providing extended time for future teachers to learn how to teach before they are responsible for their own classrooms.
No longer is it appropriate to decouple the goal of improving teacher quality from parallel efforts to increase the number of Black and Hispanic teachers. What's left to argue about...
New data from NCTQ examines the interplay between racial diversity and admissions standards in teacher preparation programs. We present strong evidence that these two considerations need not be competing goals,...
This moment in education requires leaders who will publicly position themselves as the best learners, not the best knowers.
New data suggests expectations placed on novice teachers during their first real professional development experience are far too low.
Teacher candidates' clinical placements should represent an environment similar to what they'll experience in their first teaching job.
What role should our nation's schools play in fostering an informed electorate?
While it may still feel like the 273rd day of March, we're really truly nearing the end of December, and the year 2020.
All but four states in the nation now permit teachers to come into the profession through an "alternate route," compared to only a few 30 years ago. Alternate routes into...
Are teacher licensing tests a milestone to achieve or an obstacle to be removed?
Five steps every school district should take to get the most bang for the buck with student teachers
Teacher preparation is a delicate balance between having a broad enough lens to account for the multitude of contexts those new teachers will find themselves in, while also being specific...
Science has taken some really hard knocks in 2020. Over the past week, however, science had a couple of well-needed wins within the world of education—both in reading instruction and...
Strong preparation requires meaningful practice.
Some excellent recent research and analysis from William Furey and Education Next exposes that more than half of states continue to endorse learning styles by including them in licensure tests...
Unlike any other state, the majority of Texas teachersare prepared by non-traditional programs.
What is it going to take for teachers to enter the classroom ready to close the opportunity gap, rather than to perpetuate it?
Some sensible solutions sometimes turn out to be counterproductive. A prime example may exist in Washington state, which recently instituted a policy requiring new special education teachers to pursue a...
Researchers have spent decades investigating the most valid predictors and measures of teacher quality, with one of the hopes being that school districts will know exactly what to look for...
Every year, over a million children, most of them black and Hispanic, enter the fourth grade unable to read. Fully half of elementary teacher preparation programs have addressed this inequity...
Learning how to read is not something that comes naturally. Many children need instruction from their teachers that follows the research on the most effective and efficient methods of teaching...
Some of the essential skills can be learned from textbooks and lectures—but knowing how to put it all in motion requires some real-world practice.
Over a century ago, former school principal Abraham Flexner catalyzed the reform of medical education, producing an exhaustive report and ratings of the nation's 155 medical schools.
States must now consider how these coronavirus-related closures are impacting student teaching and other licensure requirements.
Student teaching may not be a magic bullet for combating the myriad problems that plague teacher preparation, but it sure comes close...
The settlement agreement in CA still tiptoes around the most likely reason these kids aren't reading.
Reading is the gateway to educational achievement and lifelong success, especially for students who face seemingly insurmountable social and economic barriers.
While the success we see in adoption of reading science among teacher prep programs really is cause for celebration, I still can't help but feel that it's too early to...
New data and analysis from the National Council on Teacher Quality finds significant progress on the science of reading instruction in teacher preparation. For the first time since NCTQ began...
Is the reason Americans tolerate unnecessarily high rates of kids who never learn how to read yet another manifestation of institutionalized racism?
While all student teaching experiences are notcreated equal, understanding and measuring how they are different turns out tobe a challenge.
Perhaps this headline seems self-evident, but the backlash against licensure tests suggests otherwise.
In journalist Natalie Wexler's powerful new book, The Knowledge Gap, she sets out to make the case for the critical importance of a knowledge-rich curriculum.
Districts report the most difficulty not only filling STEM and special ed vacancies but keeping them filled with strong, effective teachers. Given these shortages, what can districts do to recruit...
If a picture is worth a thousand words, I'm thinking that these two images should have long ago put an immediate end to any debate over what teachers need to...
Do you want to know the GPA requirements for admission and the number and types of tests aspiring teachers have to pass from admission through program completion? Explore Basic Undergraduate...
Prospective teacher candidates should make informed decisions about which teacher preparation programs are likely to best prepare them to succeed on their licensure tests and in the classroom. However, too...
Tennessee is at it again! The Volunteer State, known for its strong policies around teacher prep and teacher evaluation, is once again offering up its data.
A Fair Chance: Simple steps to strengthen and diversify the teacher workforce examined a particularly troubling issue, the fact that so many elementary teacher candidates struggle to pass licensing tests...
A new study casts some legitimate doubts about just how much of a cash cow ed schools really are.
No matter how much I am inclined to trust someone else's expertise, I need to be my own best advocate.
Peppered with plenty of advice from practicing teachers, Start Here to Become a Teacher provides advice to people interested in teaching and allows aspiring educators to more wisely "comparison shop"...
https://www.nctq.org/blog/Steps-to-help-create-a-stronger,-more-diverse-elementary-teacher-workforce
School districts currently hire about 70,000 new elementary teachers each year, with the expectation that these teachers are ready to teach the standard elementary curriculum of English language arts, mathematics,...
There's a big push inmany states and among the edu-policy crowd to do away teacher licensing tests.
In A Fair Chance: Simple steps to strengthen and diversify the teacher workforce, NCTQ analysis reveals both astonishingly high numbers of elementary teacher candidates failing their professional licensing tests each...
As our nation embarks upon a new year, we must acknowledge a sobering reality…
New research adds two fascinating twists to this (thankfully) increasingly popular field of research.
Oftentimes research is way out ahead of the conventional wisdom. Occasionally though, common sense ends up being justified by research.
Perhaps you can help me solve a puzzle.
Over the past century, science has revealed a great deal about how the brain functions.
Take your eyes off the pounding surf for a moment to read my top three interesting developments worth noting.
This study examines all 50 states' and the District of Columbia's requirements regarding the science of reading for elementary and special education teacher candidates.
It's reasonable to assume that a master's degree in teaching should provide new teachers with a leg up compared to those who go through training as an undergraduate. Not so.
A new paper adds to the growing body of research pointing out just how difficult it is to tell teacher prep programs apart based on outputs.
Though I've never considered myself an isolationist, I am increasingly questioning the value of looking beyond American borders for insights into education, at least regarding teacher quality.
As school districts plan for the coming school year, many are already considering where to recruit a fresh crop of new teachers - teachers eager to put everything they've learned...
With decades of research that have shown the number of children struggling to read can be cut by two-thirds or more if the methods used to teach them to read...
The 2018 Teacher Prep Review examines the results of rating 567 traditional graduate programs, 129 alternative route programs, and 18 residencies preparing both elementary and secondary teachers. The Review includes...
In just a couple of weeks NCTQ will be releasing an updated set of ratings for graduate and alternative route teacher prep programs. These results are made all the more...
We've all taken plenty of tests in our time—so surely any of us could figure out how to assess our students, right? Not so fast! Strong assessment practice requires training...
Teachers often say that of all parts of their training, student teaching was the most valuable. This may leave their course instructors wondering: does everything they say go in one...
As a student, it is so frustrating when a teacher never returns your work. How will you know how you did? Teacher preparation programs instruct candidates to give frequent feedback...
Even today, high-needs schools struggle to attract and, more critically, retain effective and experienced teachers. We think teacher prep programs are missing a huge opportunity to tackle this issue, through...
NCTQ's bi-annual 2017 State Teacher Policy Yearbook grades states on how well their programs and policies raise the quality of the teachers in their schools. The 2017 Yearbook evaluates states...
The National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) released its 2014 Teacher Prep Review, with a much expanded and more comprehensive evaluation of 1,612 teacher preparation programs across the United States,...
This second part of our book recommendations focuses on books that help teachers learn about how to teach students to read and books on the big picture--international comparisons and efforts...
Halloween might be over a month away, but new teachers have their own terror to face as school begins: "Classroom" and "management" are two of the scariest words for anyone...
Should schools of education steer their students to fields where they have the highest chances of being hired? Or should they allow students to major in fields in which the...
Whether you're running a marathon, learning something new, or trying to improve student achievement, there's no advantage quite like a head start. Unfortunately, teacher prep programs tend to squander this...
Among the biggest surprises NCTQ encountered in researching our December 2016 Landscape in Teacher Preparation – Undergraduate Elementary were the substantial improvements in coursework aimed at teaching elementary teachers how...
It's no secret that teacher prep programs often fail to teach scientifically based approaches to reading instruction. Our December 2016 analysis of undergraduate elementary teacher prep programs found that just...
Over the last few months, a whole bunch of states -- including Arizona, Minnesota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, New York, and Wisconsin -- have tried to lower their requirements for...
NCTQ's new report on teacher prep programs provides an updated perspective on how well some 700 colleges and universities are preparing high school teachers. While it is certainly no easier...
With today's release of NCTQ's newest teacher prep ratings, we single out 16 programs as the "Top Tier." These programs at the top of our rankings are the best places...
We've long been excited about the wealth of information – and its potential uses – coming from Tennessee's teacher prep report cards (see here and here). The state's Department of...
High school represents an amazing opportunity for students and their teachers. For most Americans, the high school years played a pivotal role in shaping what they know about subjects such...
If you're even a casual observer of the trends in higher education, odds are you're familiar with the persistent challenge of grade inflation. The rise of college grades—in the absence...
Looking for an effective math teacher? What about a skilled science instructor? Need both? UTeach programs have you covered.
The fact that many of Nebraska's schools lack enough teachers, particularly in fields like science, mathematics, and special education, is likely not news to most. Year after year, nearly all...
Today, New York's State Board of Regents is considering doing away with a recentlyadopted licensing test for teacher candidates, amid concerns that the too many blackand Latino teacher candidates fail...
The Senate is now considering a bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives that overturns the teacher preparation regulations finalized by the Department of Education this past October. NCTQ...
Reading drives nearly everything in schools -- from learning about other cultures by reading textbooks, to finding out about the planets by reading about astronomy, to discovering about great heroes...
Neuroscientists, psychologists, and reading experts all agree on the methods that will result in the most children becoming successful readers.
Studies have shown teachers who have strong academic backgrounds tend to be more successful in the classroom.
Teacher quality researchers made plenty of provocative headlines in 2016. They identified trends to monitor, new tips for the trade, and a few wins worth celebrating. Here are the papers...
Today, NCTQ is excited to share the latest results in our ongoing analysis of teacher prep programs, this time focusing on what we've learned from 875 undergraduate elementary programs.This is...
NCTQ's 2016 Landscape in Teacher Preparation has examined 875 traditional undergraduate programs that prepare elementary school teachers, finding widely variable levels of quality. Some programs prepare teachers whom parents would...
NCTQ's Teacher Prep Review coming out on December 8th (previously December 6th) which will rate undergraduate programs that prepare elementary school teachers, is a follow up to the June 2014...
A strong body of research, and the example of other nations, supports a relationship between student performance and the selectivity of admissions into teacher prep programs. Therefore, America's institutions training...
Within Our Grasp: Achieving Higher Admissions Standards in Teacher Prep is the tenth annual publication in the State Teacher Policy Yearbook report series. This report focuses on teacher preparation program...
It's not surprising that teacher educators feel defensive thesedays. They frequently face accusations for their allegedly inferior qualityprograms. Non-traditional training programs assert they can produce betterteachers in a few months...
At long last the USDepartment of Education released its teacherprep regulations this week, prompting me to check mycalendar. I had to look up the date of my first meeting with...
Today the U.S. Department of Education released long anticipated regulations on teacher preparation, specifying the program information that states must collect and report in complying with the Title II of...
Today former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan published an open letter to higher education leadership, urging them to ensure that their teacher prep programs are sufficiently rigorous. In the...
As we discussedearlier this month, holding teacher prep programs accountable for theperformance of their graduates is no easy task. The data is often scant andresearchers usually can't distinguish any standouts...
Ifyou want to judge the quality of a teacher prep program, one approach isobvious: examine whether the teachers who graduate from that program actuallyhelp students learn.Easiersaid than done. Many factors...
Is it too much to ask that professionals stay abreast of the research? The authors of a recently published study, "The Dyslexia Dilemma," don't think it is and the extendedtitle...
Public schools are suffering from a well-publicized diversity problem. Students of color make up nearly half of all public school students, yet teachers of color comprise just 18 percent of...
Youcan't teach what you don't know—andwhen it comes to math, some teachers just don't know enough. Why? MichiganState University professor William H. Schmidt and his colleagues look at...
A new study from the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) takes a first look at the inner workings of teacher preparation programs aimed at aspiring preschool teachers, discovering major...
30million words. It's a staggering number representing the tremendous gap in thenumber of utterances (not distinct words) a child hears by agefour—depending on where his family falls on the socioeconomic...
For many people, the call to teach isn't heard until after they've received their college degree. At times this change can be overwhelming due to the various programs and types...
Preschool teachers have one of the toughest jobs around. Do the prep programs training aspiring preschool teachers give them the skills and knowledge they need to create an high-quality and...
https://www.nctq.org/blog/Three-reasons-why-every-teacher-prep-program-should-adopt-the-edTPAor-not.
Over the last few decades, the field of teacher educationhas heavily promoted the use and even the mandatory adoption by states ofstandardized assessments that can be used to judge how...
Of late, there's been a lot of chatter amongteacher educators objecting to language in ESSA for "teacher preparationacademies," relatively regulation-free routes into teaching. From theperspective of much-maligned traditional teacher prep...
Editor's Note: I heard Erin Burns speak at an Opportunity Culture conference about her decision to return to the same struggling high school where she started her teaching career....
Editor's Note: We spoke with Doug Lemov, author of Teach Like A Champion (now in its revised 2.0 version), Reading Reconsidered and Practice Perfect to discuss the challenges facing teachers...
New data shines a spotlight on what's happening in the black box of teacher prep – but what it reveals is just plain depressing.A non-profit organization which describes itself as...
With the year's most romantic holiday freshin our memories, we turn to a different kind of matchmaking: matching studentteachers with the right schools.
A few weeks ago while myblizzard-frenzied hometown of Baltimore was busy emptying grocery shelves ofbread and toilet paper, I took off for Paris—at the invitation of the OECD. There's nothing...
Shouldn't we expect that teachers will initially performdifferently in the classroom based on the quality of their preparation? Afterall, there are no fewer than 1,400 institutions of higher education in...
As an aspiring elementary teacher, my goal has been to obtain thebest possible training to prepare myself for my future classroom. I put fullfaith in my university's teacher preparation program...
We've all been there. A teacher asks a class to answer asimple question with a show of hands. You're not sure of the answer—butlucky for you, the top student was...
Over the holidays, I ran into an old colleague from back when Iwas doing a lot of work in Baltimore during the 1990s. The conversation turnedto NCTQ's work in teacher...
To write this report, we combed through thousands of pages of teacher education textbooks for discussion of research-based strategies that every teacher candidate should learn in order to promote student...
A Foot in the Door: Exploring the Role of Student TeachingAssignments in Teachers' Initial Job Placements by Krieg, Theobald, &GoldhaberEvery district wants to get a leg up onhiring the best...
High school teachers may not be getting sufficient opportunities and training to learn the very subjects they are teaching - and students are taking notice - according to new findings...
The 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook is our ninth annual Yearbook report. Comprised of a National Summary and State-specific reports for all 50 states and the District of Columbia, this...
I am one of NCTQ's biggest supporters, but I amvery disappointed with the recent publication of The Good Behavior Game as ameans for improving classroom management. This is not...
Four teachers'use of a self-monitoring checklist that successfully helped them use the GoodBehavior Game is reported in a new study.* We perked up when we saw attention paid to the...
This report presents the most comprehensive and up-to-date policy trends on how states are evaluating teachers. It also breaks new ground by providing a look at the policy landscape on...
A few weeks ago Whitney Tilson, writing in his alwaysentertaining blog, gave a nice nodto an op-edby Dan Willingham in the New York Times,addressing the sorry state of American teacher...
Today, the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) released its 'Best Value'ratings of colleges of education across the U.S.—the first time that a national education policy organizationhas conducted a comprehensive...
The National Council on Teacher Quality today launched a new free searchtool, Path to Teach, allowing any member of the public to quickly find meaningful, reliableinformation about the quality of...
I can be a slow learner.My colleagues at NCTQ and I have been working together on teacher quality for well over a decade. For a long time, we sorted issues...
Almost 6.4 million students—about 13% of students overall—receive special education services. Meanwhile, nearly the same percentage of the teacher workforce works in special education classrooms. Considering the need for these...
Studentteaching is intended to be the culminating experience of a teacher'spreparation. It's typically a fall or spring semester commitment. Over the lastfew years, there's been a steady drum beat for...
Want toincrease mathematics achievement for all first grade students? Focus onteacher-directed instruction.
Imagine that you're trying toteach a lesson on cell division, and one student will not pay attention. Evenworse, she keeps talking back to you. The interaction is starting to distractother...
As a group, teachers tend to defy the old adage "you can't go home again," usually taking jobs within 50 miles of where they went to high school and making...
A new study by the Education Policy Initiative at Carolina (EPIC) examining the connection between the National Council on Teacher Quality's (NCTQ) Teacher Prep Review standards and actual teacher performance...
Doteacher education journals seek to help teacher educators do a better job? It seemslike a fairly silly question. Nevertheless, we reviewed 10 prominent teacher edjournals and learned that, for the...
As scarce asinternational studies on teaching generally are, we were glad to see two newstudies looking at what it takes to be a successful math teacher. Both providemore evidence that...
As Ithink about my career plans for next year when I will begin work as a first-yearhigh school math teacher, I am both excited and nervous about taking onteaching's many...
When I was in college, several of my coursesrequired the purchase of what the professors indicated were canonical texts.Calculus required Apostol's Calculus Volumes1 and 2.Electricity and magnetism used Jackson's ClassicalElectrodynamics....
After interning at theNational Council on Teacher Quality for a mere two weeks, I became acutelyaware of how little I knew about teacher preparation. As someone who wants tobe a...
Sometimes therejust aren'tenough great teachers to go around. Placing two, eventhree student teachers in a single classroom is one way that teacher prepprograms are working around shortages of qualified cooperating...
To understand the different approaches taken by prep programs housed on the same university campus, we examined 13 institutions that offer both a grad and undergrad program preparing new elementary...
When wefirst began analyzing teacher prep programs for the Teacher Prep Review, we were surprised to find some really bigdifferences in how well programs housed on the same campus did...
An NCTQ follower on Twitter, @mescamilla1980, recently challenged our take on what'sbehind the disproportionately high grades earned by teacher candidates,suggesting that only those majors which will lead to highly paid...
Earlier this month, the MissouriSupreme Court declined to hear NCTQ's appeal of a lower courtdecision, whichblocked our request that the University of Missouri turn over coursesyllabi to us ...
Dallas IndependentSchool Districthires approximately 2,000 new teachers each year. It is transforming the wayits human capital team works, adopting data-driven strategies for recruitment,selection and hiring. One of the many sources...
Districtsoften ask NCTQ to identify the preparation programs that produce teachers whowill stay in the classroom through thick and thin. So we eagerly dove into tworecent articles, one by RichardIngersoll...
In the fiveyears since most states adopted Common Core State Standards or their ownversion of college- and career-readiness standards, about one million newteachers have graduated from teacher preparation programs in...
A top-notch,three-part series (here, here and here) running inthis week's Education Week sheds new light on one of the mostnon-transparent of states' regulatory functions: their approval of teacherpreparation programs. Journalist...
Over theyears, there have been a gazillion studies examining the relative merit ofdifferent pathways into the teaching profession. Almost all come up short,often because the studies do not clearly define...
For nearly a decade, NCTQ has been trying to figure out how toevaluate teacher prep coursework for its rigor. It's an endeavor to which bothof us brought no small measure...
It's no secret that some elementary teacherswould rather walk across hot lava than teach a science lesson and that meansless science gets taught. A new studyshows that improving teachers'...
Using evidence from more than 500 colleges and universities producing nearly half of the nation's new teachers annually, this report answers two questions that go to the heart of whether...
https://www.nctq.org/blog/A-call-to-higher-educators:--Lets-have-an-honest-debate-about-teacher-prep
Most people who tookthe time to read NYT Motoko Rich's article about the training methods used by Aspirecharter schools in its teacher residency probably reacted with a"makes-sense-to-me" shrug of their...
Everyone says practice matters; butthe Match Teacher Residency provides a shining example of a rigorous, practice-permeatedapproach to training designed to ensure that new teachers will hit the groundrunning. It may...
Along with Tom Loveless, Robert Pondiscio and David Steiner, count me among those who are less than enchanted by Elizabeth Green's new book. The journalist—who did such a fine...
Americans increasingly agree that the gateway into teaching ought to be a whole lot tougher. Findings released this week from Gallup/ PDK's annual education poll indicate that six in ten...
While the recent landmark Vergara v. California court case focused on teachers who are or should be dismissed, the greatest portion of teachers are still those who don't stick around...
Teacher Prep Review 2014 is the second edition of NCTQ's biennial assessment of the nation's 2,400 teacher prep programs. The Review uncovers early evidence that teacher prep programs are beginning...
America's teacher preparation programs are not providing future teachers with the knowledge and practice in effective classroom management strategies necessary to deal with disruptive student behavior, according to a new...
This report examines traditional teacher preparation in classroom management, which is a struggle for many teachers, especially new ones. It studies over 100 programs, both elementary and secondary, graduate and...
The National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ), which recently released the first edition of the Teacher Prep Review, an annual study rating the quality of teacher prep programs, and SearchSoft,...
Dismal new findings from the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States are not providing adequate training to aspiring...
Dismal new findings from the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States, including programs in Alabama, are not providing...
Dismal new findings from the National Council on TeacherQuality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States,including programs in Alaska, are not providing adequate training...
Dismal new findings from the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States, including programs in Arizona, are not providing...
Dismal new findings from the National Council on TeacherQuality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States,including programs in Arkansas, are not providing adequate training...
Dismal new findings from the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States are not providing adequate training to aspiring...
Dismal new findings from the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States, including programs in Colorado, are not providing...
– Dismal new findings from the National Council on TeacherQuality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States,including programs in Connecticut, are not providing adequate...
Dismal new findings from the National Council on TeacherQuality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States,including programs in the District of Columbia, are not...
Dismal new findings from the National Council on TeacherQuality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States,including programs in Delaware, are not providing adequate training...
Dismal new findings from the National Council on TeacherQuality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States,including programs in Florida, are not providing adequate training...
Dismal new findings from the National Council on TeacherQuality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States,including programs in Georgia, are not providing adequate training...
Dismal new findings from the National Council on TeacherQuality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States,including programs in Hawaii, are not providing adequate training...
Dismal new findings from the National Council on TeacherQuality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States,including programs in Idaho, are not providing adequate training...
Dismal new findings from the National Council on TeacherQuality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States,including programs in Illinois, are not providing adequate training...
Dismal new findings from the National Council on TeacherQuality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States,including programs in Indiana, are not providing adequate training...
Dismal new findings from the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States, including programs in Iowa, are not providing...
Dismal new findings from the National Council on TeacherQuality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States,including programs in Kansas, are not providing adequate training...
Dismal new findings from the National Council on TeacherQuality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States,including programs in North Carolina, are not providing adequate...
Dismal new findings from the National Council on TeacherQuality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States,including programs in New York, are not providing adequate...
Dismal new findings from the National Council on TeacherQuality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States,including programs in New Mexico, are not providing adequate...
Dismal new findings from the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States, including programs in New Jersey, are not...
Dismal new findings from the National Council on TeacherQuality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States,including programs in New Hampshire, are not providing adequate...
Dismal new findings from the National Council on TeacherQuality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States,including programs in Nevada, are not providing adequate training...
Dismal new findings from the National Council on TeacherQuality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States,including programs in Nebraska, are not providing adequate training...
Dismal new findings from the National Council on TeacherQuality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States,including programs in Montana, are not providing adequate training...
Dismal new findings from the National Council on TeacherQuality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States,including programs in Missouri, are not providing adequate training...
Dismal new findings from the National Council on TeacherQuality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States,including programs in Mississippi, are not providing adequate training...
Dismal new findings from the National Council on TeacherQuality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States,including programs in Minnesota, are not providing adequate training...
Dismal new findings from the National Council on TeacherQuality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States,including programs in Michigan, are not providing adequate training...
Dismal new findings from the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States, including programs in Massachusetts, are not providing...
Dismal new findings from the National Council on TeacherQuality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States,including programs in Maryland, are not providing adequate training...
Dismal new findings from the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States, including programs in Maine, are not providing...
Dismal new findings from the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States, including programs in Louisiana, are not providing...
Dismal new findings from the National Council on TeacherQuality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States,including programs in Kentucky, are not providing adequate training...
Dismal new findings from the National Council on TeacherQuality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States,including programs in North Dakota, are not providing adequate...
Dismal new findings from the National Council on TeacherQuality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States,including programs in Ohio, are not providing adequate training...
Dismal new findings from the National Council on TeacherQuality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States,including programs in Oklahoma, are not providing adequate training...
Dismal new findings from the National Council on TeacherQuality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States,including programs in Oregon, are not providing adequate training...
Dismal new findings from the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States, including programs in Pennsylvania, are not providing...
Dismal new findings from the National Council on TeacherQuality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States,including programs in Rhode Island, are not providing adequate...
Dismal new findings from the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States, including programs in South Carolina, are not...
Dismal new findings from the National Council on TeacherQuality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States,including programs in South Dakota, are not providing adequate...
Dismal new findings from the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States, including programs in Tennessee, are not providing...
Dismal new findings from the National Council on TeacherQuality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States,including programs in Texas, are not providing adequate training...
Dismal new findings from the National Council on TeacherQuality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States,including programs in Utah, are not providing adequate training...
Dismal new findings from the National Council on TeacherQuality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States,including programs in Vermont, are not providing adequate training...
Dismal new findings from the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States, including programs in Virginia, are not providing...
Dismal new findings from the National Council on TeacherQuality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States,including programs in Washington, are not providing adequate training...
Dismal new findings from the National Council on TeacherQuality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States,including programs in West Virginia, are not providing adequate...
Dismal new findings from the National Council on TeacherQuality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States,including programs in Wisconsin, are not providing adequate training...
Dismal new findings from the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) show that the majority of teacher preparation programs in the United States, including one program in Wyoming, are not...
The first edition of the NCTQ Teacher Prep Review is an unprecedented evaluation of more than 1,100 colleges anduniversities that prepare elementary and secondary teachers. As a consumer tool, it...
The National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) announced today that the Council of the Great City Schools (CGCS), an organization that represents sixty- five superintendents from urban public schools, has...
Today, the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ), a nonpartisan research and advocacy group, released a national study that provides the most comprehensive review of student teaching arrangements ever done,...
At the intersection of policy pushes to assess teacher effectiveness and to improve accountability systems for teacher preparation programs lie state efforts to connect student achievement data to preparation programs....
The State Teacher Policy Yearbook provides detailed analysis of any and every state policy that impacts the teaching profession. The Yearbook is a 52-volume encyclopedia (51 state reports including the...
Interim editions of the Yearbook provide shorter briefs for each state that include a state-specific action plan, updating states' progress on Yearbook goals and giving advice on how to prioritize...
Interim editions of the Yearbook provide shorter briefs for each state that include a state-specific action plan, updating states' progress on Yearbook goals and giving advice on how to prioritize...
This report provides information on the preparation provided to teacher candidates from teacher training programs so that they can fully use assessment data to improve classroom instruction.
The State Teacher Policy Yearbook provides detailed analysis of any and every state policy that impacts the teaching profession. The Yearbook is a 52-volume encyclopedia (51 state reports including the...
Student teaching serves as a capstone experience for nearly 200,000 teacher candidates each year. In an effort to understand how to get student teaching "right," NCTQ embarked on an ambitious...
As a companion to last year's comprehensive state-by-state analysis, the 2010 edition provides each state with an individualized Blueprint for Change, building off last year's Yearbook goals and recommendations.
NCTQ's analysis of science-teacher licensure policies in every state of the union reveals that most offer loopholes allowing high school teachers to teach specific subjects without adequate preparation. Eleven states...
The Prairie State is the latest focus of NCTQ's ongoing study of teacher-preparation programs across the country. This time around, we evaluate 113 undergraduate and graduate programs at 53 ed...
Traditional education schools are under fire for failing to prepare new teachers for the challenges of today's classrooms. With that in mind, NCTQ releases its largest ed school study to...
The State Teacher Policy Yearbook provides detailed analysis of any and every state policy that impacts the teaching profession. The Yearbook is a 52-volume encyclopedia (51 state reports including the...
As a follow up to NCTQ's national studies of how well elementary teachers are prepared to teach reading and mathematics, NCTQ looks at preparation in both subjects in all undergraduate...
As a follow up to NCTQ's national studies of how well elementary teachers are prepared to teach reading and mathematics, NCTQ looks at preparation in both subjects in all undergraduate...
As a follow up to NCTQ's national studies of how well elementary teachers are prepared to teach reading and mathematics, NCTQ looks at preparation in both subjects in all undergraduate...
As a follow up to NCTQ's national studies of how well elementary teachers are prepared to teach reading and mathematics, NCTQ looks at preparation in both subjects in all undergraduate...
NCTQ's advice to states on what they can do to improve their shot at getting a portion of the $4.35 billion in Race to the Top funds.
State laws and regulations can either help or hinder the ability of school districts to hire effective teachers for STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects. State officials wanting to...
NCTQ Releases Study of Reading Preparation in Indiana Education Schools: As a follow up to NCTQ's national study on how well elementary teachers are prepared to teach reading, NCTQ looks...
The 2008 edition of the State Teacher Policy Yearbook provides an in-depth analysis of a critical piece of the teacher quality puzzle: the retention of effective new teachers.
States may no longer be working on their Race to the Top applications, but NCTQ's scorecard is a great way to assess states' human capital policies. Covering areas like pathways...
American students' chronically poor performance in mathematics on international tests may begin in the earliest grades, handicapped by the weak knowledge of mathematics of their own elementary teachers. NCTQ looks...
The State Teacher Policy Yearbook provides detailed analysis of any and every state policy that impacts the teaching profession. The Yearbook is a 52-volume encyclopedia (51 state reports including the...
https://www.nctq.org/publications/If-Wishes-Were-Horses:-The-Reality-behind-Teacher-Quality-Findings
An exciting proposition is making the rounds of the education policy circuit. Generated by recent findings on the importance of teacher quality, it suggests assigning great teachers five years in...
As this study shows, most alternate route teachers have had to jump through many of the same hoops, meeting the same "traditional" academic requirements and undergoing much the same training...
In this groundbreaking report, NCTQ studied a large representative sampling of ed schools to find out what future elementary teachers are and are not learning about reading instruction. The report,...
The nation's leading teacher educators have produced an exhaustive review of the impact that formal teacher education has on teachers. Studying Teacher Education - a voluminous report of the American...