Setting the Record Straight: AACTE’s Engagement on the National Council on Teacher Quality Teacher Prep Review

Official Statement of AACTE President and CEO Dr. Sharon P. Robinson

(July 22, 2013, Washington, D.C.) – Little more than a month has passed since the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) released its 2013 Teacher Prep Review that included ratings of 1,100 higher education-based teacher preparation programs. Further, NCTQ has begun data collection for its 2014 review. It is no secret that many within the teacher preparation profession have taken issue with the review methodology and findings. These critics include AACTE, a national alliance that represents more than 800 of the schools, colleges and departments of education (SCDEs) that prepare new teachers for the classroom.

AACTE has issued several statements over the last few years summarizing our members’ concerns with NCTQ’s work, particularly with the council’s failure to follow even the most fundamental principles of research methodology. In each of NCTQ’s projects, AACTE has supported member-to-member engagement and networking. Our role has and continues to be to support institutional decision-making. In the hype and controversy that have surrounded the most recent NCTQ review, though, AACTE’s role has been mischaracterized so let me set the record straight on this count.