NCTQ To Release 2018 Teacher Prep Review

Who: National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ), a non-partisan research and policy organization dedicated to ensuring every classroom has an effective teacher.

What: NCTQ's 2018 Teacher Prep Review which rates 567 traditional graduate programs, 129 alternative route programs, and 18 residencies preparing both elementary and secondary teachers.  The Review rates these programs on a number of factors, including how well they cover teachers' knowledge of subject matter, classroom management, and the need for practice. 

Unfortunately, our ratings found that both traditional graduate and alternative route models compare unfavorably with undergraduate teacher preparation models, presuming too much about candidates’ grasp of the subject matter they will be teaching without providing the additional support needed to account for their lack of knowledge. With the high number of new teachers in the workforce, particularly in schools that serve traditionally-underrepresented students who need additional support, it is imperative that programs provide prospective teachers with the proper support from their prep programs to become effective first-year teachers. 

Programs rated in the top 10 nationally include INSPIRE Texas (top alternative route elementary program), CUNY - Hunter College in New York (top graduate secondary program), and Richmond Teacher Residency (top residency program). 

About the National Council on Teacher Quality:

The National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) is a nonpartisan research and policy group, committed to modernizing the teaching profession and based on the belief that all children deserve effective teachers. NCTQ is the nation’s expert on the quality of teacher preparation programs and evaluates national teacher education against evidence-based criteria. More information about NCTQ can be found on our website, www.nctq.org.

Featured

  • S4L Announces 2026 Education Design Showcase Winners

    Spaces4Learning is thrilled to announce the winners of the 2026 Education Design Showcase! Now in its 27th year, the annual awards program honors innovative solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction across K–12 and higher education.

  • Porter Family Center

    Porter Family Center for Innovation and Academics

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. The Porter Family Center for Innovation and Academics has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Project of Distinction award in the category of New Construction.

  • Architectural Power for the Modern Campus Landscape

    For generations, an outdoor classroom only required a textbook and a patch of grass. Today, not only has the laptop replaced the printed pages, the rise of agile learning has turned campuses into study halls with students listening to lectures and researching topics from quads, gardens, and plazas. The challenge for architects and facility managers is to provide connectivity without cluttering the landscape with visual eyesores or creating safety hazards with extension cords.

  • University of Kansas Breaks Ground on Entrepreneurship Hub

    The University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kan., recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new KU Entrepreneurship Hub, according to university news. The Hub is part of the university’s School of Business and will include spaces for experiential learning and programming.