Experts Cite Lack of Research, Dismiss Credibility of State Policy Report on Teacher Preparation

(January 25, 2013, Washington, D.C.) – Teacher preparation experts are dismissing the credibility of the latest National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) report, citing too many unanswered questions around its efficacy, methodology and accuracy.

The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) finds the 2012 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Improving Teacher Preparation National Summary, released January 23, to be vastly inconsistent with the gold-standard of student performance measures, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Top-achieving states on the NAEP, such as Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey and Vermont, received grades of “C” or “D” from NCTQ. Yet, there is no known research base linking NCTQ’s criteria to improved teaching and learning outcomes, nor any cited in the report.