The National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) has released its latest ratings for 567 traditional graduate programs, 129 alternative route programs, and 18 residencies preparing both elementary and secondary teachers. Assessing programs on a number of key factors – such as how well they assess teachers’ subject matter content knowledge, classroom management, and the need Read more about NCTQ Releases 2018 Teacher Prep Review[…]
In school year 2011-12, the majority of early-career teachers (i.e., teachers who had taught for five or fewer years) in public schools reported that they were well prepared for a range of instructional duties in their first year of teaching. The National Center for Education Statistics released a new Statistics in Brief report entitled “Preparation Read more about Early-Career Teachers’ Preparation and Support[…]
It is often difficult for school and district leadership to identify high-quality teachers who will remain in the classroom, especially among those who are just entering the profession and in the first years of employment. However, a recent study by Robert Vagi, Margarita Pivovarova and Wendy Miedel Barnard suggests that examining a prospective teacher’s instructional Read more about What does pre-service teacher quality tell us about entry and retention in the profession?[…]
NCTQ’s 2018 State Teacher Policy Best Practices Guide highlights leading state work across 37 different policy areas that impact teacher quality. This resource serves as a guide to all states seeking concrete ideas and examples of how to improve teacher policy. Despite consistent concerns regarding whether states are acting quickly and ambitiously enough to improve Read more about NCTQ Releases 2018 State Teacher Policy Best Practices Guide[…]
In October 2017, American Institutes for Research (AIR) convened a panel of more than 30 teacher educators, researchers, and school and district leaders to present interdisciplinary research study designs that would break ground on new ways to better prepare teachers. These innovative designs, and the conversations they sparked, represent the cutting edge of teacher preparation Read more about New Collaborations and New Approaches to Teacher Preparation[…]
The National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) has released its Teacher Shortages and Surpluses Databurst, an analysis of states’ work to track teacher shortages and surpluses, and to implement policy solutions to address these challenges. This resource includes an overview of promising practices currently being implemented, a snapshot of all 50 states’ and the District Read more about NCTQ Releases Analysis of States’ Efforts to Address Teacher Shortages and Surpluses[…]
Writing for New America, Roxanne Garza describes how early college high schools specializing in the teaching profession work to encourage more young people to become educators. Excerpts of the article appear below: Early College High Schools, which allow students to earn an associate degree in addition to a diploma while in high school, are rapidly Read more about Early College High Schools Take on Teacher Preparation[…]
A new brief from Education First outlines what teacher educators do and how they can be supported in their practice. To give all students great educational opportunities, we need outstanding teachers in our classrooms. But we can’t forget that, when participating in teacher preparation programs and professional development, teachers are students themselves-and they also need Read more about Developing New Teacher Educators[…]
The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) has released Transforming Educator Preparation: Lessons Learned from Leading States, a playbook offering specific steps states can take to improve educator preparation. In 2012, CCSSO released Our Responsibility, Our Promise, boldly challenging state education leaders to raise expectations and strengthen policies to better prepare teachers before they Read more about State School Chiefs Offer ‘Playbook’ on Improving Teacher Preparation[…]
Every student, no matter where he or she lives, deserves a great teacher. States, educator preparation programs (EPPs), and K–12 leaders must work together to ensure that all teachers are learner ready on day one in the classroom. But too often, these actors do not have access to the necessary information to fully prepare teachers Read more about Using Data to Improve Teacher Prep[…]
It is back to school time, and children everywhere are being asked, “Who is your teacher this year?” In this month’s issue brief from Core Education, we explore the data to offer a profile of the American teacher. The demographics of the American educator workforce has changed over the past 25 years, with the ranks Read more about September Issue Brief: The American Teacher[…]
We know that students learn more when they receive high-quality instruction. We also have findings suggesting that some teacher preparation programs produce graduates that are more capable than others. These two pieces of evidence have led many teacher educators, researchers, and stakeholders to conclude that we need better studies of activities and experiences that are Read more about Fostering a New Approach to Research on Teacher Preparation[…]
In the past, it was common for teacher candidates to spend long hours in university classrooms before ever encountering a child. Student teaching was the ultimate capstone where prospective teachers finally had a chance to apply years of accumulated theory. Now, however, teacher preparation programs are reconfiguring themselves to infuse clinical- and practice-based experiences in Read more about June Issue Brief: Clinically-Based Teacher Preparation[…]
Ben Jensen of the The National Center on Education and the Economy examines how the U.S. can improve teacher preparation by learning from Finland, Japan, Shanghai and Hong Kong and how these top-performing countries prepare teachers for the classroom. These four systems arm teachers with a rich understanding of the subject areas they will teach and Read more about Borrowing Teacher Preparation Ideas from Top-Performing Countries[…]
At a recent meeting of the American Education Research Association (AERA), The Learning Policy Institute presented findings from a comprehensive study of teacher residencies across the nation. There are currently approximately 50 such programs. The best include the following key characteristics: Strong district/university partnerships Coursework about teaching and learning tightly integrated with clinical practice Full-year Read more about Can Teacher Residencies Help With Shortages?[…]
The National Council on Teacher Quality has followed its study of undergraduate elementary teacher preparation programs with a new study focused on secondary teacher preparation, Landscape in Teacher Preparation: Undergraduate Secondary Education. Since rules and procedures for selectivity in admissions, student teaching, and classroom management cut across teacher prep programs at an institution, whether preparing Read more about Landscape in Secondary Teacher Preparation[…]