"Suppose you were ill and decided to research the doctor you were going to," said Thomas C. DeFranco, dean of UConn's Neag School of Education, who noted that the study included no visits to the campus. "Would you just look at the courses he took or would you talk to other doctors and patients."
The National Center for Teacher Quality, a national think-tank, produced the report using $4.8 million in contributions from the Gates Foundation and 64 other groups that support data-driven instruction. NCTQ worked with U.S. News & World Report to rate 1,130 teacher-preparation programs at more than 600 colleges nationwide including 13 programs in Connecticut.
Using a four-star scale, the group looked at admission standards, curriculum and measures such as student teaching experiences.
The study concluded it is far too easy to get into teacher-preparation programs and that not enough schools are preparing teachers for the new Common Core State Standards. It says too little student teaching is required and that programs should do more to train new teachers in classroom management and to teach all students how to read.
One bright spot in the Connecticut report is that Southern Connecticut State University's graduate education program made the "honor role," a distinction awarded to only one in 10 programs nationwide.
Braden Hosch, director of policy and research and interim director of academic affairs for Connecticut State Colleges and Universities, which includes Southern, said he appreciates the attention that NCTQ brings to teacher-preparation programs. Though provocative, Hosch called NCTQ's report consistent with other calls to action.
"It recognizes that the quality of teacher-prep programs is a national imperative," he said.
In Connecticut, home to the largest achievement gap in the nation, efforts have been made to improve teacher colleges. A statewide group formed last year looked at ways to tie the programs to teacher performance and student outcomes. The work continues.
A January 2013 survey of 819 new teachers conducted by the Connecticut Education Association found more than half wish they had entered the classroom armed with more classroom management skills and 44 percent wish they had more time to observe other teachers.
"We should all be getting 4s," she said.
"In contrast to the major accrediting organizations that measure the outcomes of teacher-preparation programs, the NCTQ methodology relies largely on superficial inputs such as the content of syllabi and program descriptions," he said. "There is also a widely held view in the education community that NCTQ's tactics are aggressive, self-serving and that the results seem to support pre-determined conclusions."
In Connecticut, the report found that none of the elementary or secondary programs in the state restrict admissions to the top half of the college-going population, compared to 28 percent nationwide. DeFranco, said if NCTQ had looked deeper they would have found that the average grade-point average of UConn's teacher candidates is 3.5.
He also found it ironic that US News & World Report could rank UConn's school of Education 17th in the nation last fall, then mediocre in this new study.
Sandi Jacobs, a NCTQ vice president, said the new report is a closer examination that "looks under the hood" of teacher-prep programs.
"We don't disagree there are missing pieces, but right now we are very limited," she said. "So what we look at is the program design, what we see as the essential building blocks to a good program," she said.
http://www.ctpost.com/default/article/Critique-rates-some-state-programs-mediocre-4608368.php
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