Teacher Quality Partnership Grants

The Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP) grant program, authorized in Title II of the Higher Education Act, is the only federal initiative designed to strengthen and reform educator preparation at institutions of higher education.

TQP grants support the preparation of profession-ready teachers for high-need schools and high-need subject areas. Under this program, partnerships between institutions of higher education and high-need schools and districts compete for funding to develop master’s-level residency programs or to reform undergraduate preservice preparation programs.

Program Highlights

• Grantees are partnerships among institutions of higher education, high-need local education agencies, high-need schools, and other eligible entities that work together to develop a pipeline of profession-ready teachers.
• Grantees are required to provide extensive, yearlong clinical preparation to teacher candidates.
• Grantees must provide an induction program for at least the first two years of a graduate’s teaching career.
• Candidates participating in teaching residency programs commit to teaching for at least three years in a high-need field in the high-need district where they were prepared.
• All candidates are prepared to teach students with disabilities, to teach English language learners, and to teach literacy strategies.
• Grantees are expected to maintain the reforms even after the federal funding ends, and they must provide a 100% funding match.

Results of TQP Grants

• Schools and school districts involved in TQP are seeing improvements in the quality and retention of their teachers and in the quality of their students’ learning experiences and achievements.
• TQP grants have funded significant professional development opportunities for teachers in high-need schools, meaningful induction/mentoring programs for novice teachers, and the implementation of evidence-based reforms in teacher preparation programs.
• Teacher preparation programs at institutions of higher education have deepened their partnerships with their PK-12 colleagues and the communities they serve.

Last Updated February 2021