The results of the second edition of NCTQ’s evaluation of teacher-preparation programs aren’t that much more optimistic than last year’s much publicized and contentious findings. This years’ study examined the same programs, for the most part, but expanded the scope of the work by analyzing them more comprehensively. In total, over 1600 elementary and secondary programs were evaluated on all “key” standards, which include selectivity and admissions practices; subject-area preparation; student teaching; and classroom management. Out of this universe, only twenty-six elementary and eighty-one secondary programs made the list of top ranked programs, which is roughly 6 percent. Overall, elementary programs are weaker than secondary ones: 67 percent of the former landed in the lowest tier of scores. Further, coursework in just 17 percent of programs prepares elementary and special-education teachers in all five fundamentals of scientifically based reading instruction. The analysis also included an evaluation of alternate route programs, which now account for the education of one in five teachers in America. They don’t appear to be doing much better than traditional programs. Of the eighty-five programs reviewed, just one—Teach For America, Massachusetts—received top marks.

SOURCE: Julie Greenberg, Kate Walsh, and Arthur McKee, 2014 Teacher Prep Review: A Review of the Nation’s Teacher Preparation Programs (Washington, D.C.: National Council on Teacher Quality, June 2014).