Every student deserves a great teacher — and one of the best ways to accomplish this is to provide the best training and preparation to aspiring teachers so that they are ready to serve their students on day one. As states address the need for systemic solutions to improving teacher preparation, aspiring teachers and other key stakeholders need to know what’s important and what’s not when assessing programs. In a comprehensive report based on the perspectives of 755 teachers from across 26 states and the District of Columbia, Teach Plus zeroes in on key indicators of teacher preparation program quality and accountability and provides teacher-driven recommendations for states on program reporting.
REPORT FINDINGS
Finding 1. Teachers believe the quality of a preparation program is best measured by the performance of its graduates as classroom teachers and believe that the diversity of its candidates and their retention in schools and districts are important factors in the attractiveness of the program.
Finding 2. Teachers overwhelmingly support the idea that states should hold teacher preparation programs accountable for how well they train future educators.
Finding 3. Teachers want states to regularly release reports on teacher preparation programs that are transparent and accessible.
Finding 4. Teachers believe aspiring educators should pay attention to the indicators of classroom performance of program graduates, but also to how well teacher preparation programs provide them with a strong knowledge base on which to grow as professionals.
Read coverage in Education Week
More from Teach Plus on teacher preparation:
Evidence of Excellence: Using Data to Elevate Teacher Preparation in Texas (by Texas Teaching Policy Fellows)
We’re In This Together: How Schools, Districts, and Preparation Programs Must Collaborate to Prepare New Teachers (by Indiana Teaching Policy Fellows)
