A national group recently released a report calling most of the nation’s teacher education programs substandard, but many in the field of teacher education – including some at N.C. State – say the report is deeply flawed and misleading

Last month the National Council on Teacher Quality, a nonprofit educational research and advocacy group, released its “Teacher Prep Review.” The report rated 1,200 teacher education programs at 608 colleges and universities.

The group analyzed each teacher education program’s institutional outcomes, selection criteria and subject area preparations over a two-and-a-half-year period using course syllabi, textbooks and policies but never visited any of the schools.

The group assigned star ratings on a scale of zero to four using data collected from their analysis.

Programs that earned three or more stars made the report’s exclusive honor roll list. Less than 10 percent of schools made the list, and only four programs in the nation earned the highest ranking of four stars.

Those that earned less than one star were were labeled with a consumer warning alert.

The report sparked national attention after receiving backlash from numerous education officials of the colleges and universities in the report, including N.C. State.

“The report has very weak methodology—it’s not really a research study that they did,” said Michael Maher, assistant dean for professional education and accreditation at N.C. State. “They never actually went to an institution. I’ve often said that this is a lot like evaluating restaurants based on their menu.”

Eighteen programs in North Carolina were named in the report, including three of N.C. State’s teacher education programs. None of the University’s programs made either the “honor roll” or consumer warning alert list. 

Both the University’s undergraduate elementary and undergraduate secondary education programs earned two stars. The graduate elementary education earned one-and-a-half stars, and the graduate secondary education program earned just one.

The report concluded that a majority of teacher education programs produce teachers with inadequate classroom management skills and content knowledge to effectively perform in classrooms with ever- increasing ethnic and socioeconomic diversity.

“New teachers deserve training that will enable them to walk into their own classroom on their first day ready to teach, but our review shows that we have a long way to go,” said Kate Walsh, the president of the NCTQ. “While we know a lot about how to train teachers, those practices are seldom evident in the vast majority of programs.”

Maher agrees with other education officials who say the report is mostly flawed because the group made assessments of their schools programs without setting foot on any of the campuses. 

Paige Nixon, a senior in elementary education, said she already feels prepared to teach because the College of Education has given her opportunities to experience different classroom environments.

“I have had the opportunity to work at an extremely diverse school as well as a school with lower socioeconomic levels,” Nixon said. “By having multiple opportunities to witness different classrooms I feel prepared to teach wherever I will be needed.”

“Maher said the lack of on-campus visits wasn’t the only flaw in the study.

“In terms of actual evidence and actual performance in the classroom, we have among the highest- performing teachers. We produce among the highest-performing elementary teachers in math and science,” said Maher. 

According to Maher, the University is doing many things that are innovative and exclusive compared to traditional teacher education programs.

Meredith Costas, a sophomore in elementary education said the faculty in the College of Education, specifically the elementary education program, makes the University stand out from other schools.

“The faculty in the elementary education program realizes that the traditional classroom is being transformed, and strive to foster a learning environment for their degree seekers that will truly equip and prepare us for our future classrooms” Costas said. 

The College of Education is moving into new performance-based assessments where future teachers develop rigorous work products that demonstrate that they know how to teach and know how to impact student learning. 

“This ranking, I think, is arbitrary. I don’t think it reflects what in fact happens here at N.C. State, and I don’t think it necessarily reflects the profession,” Maher said.