Opinion: Teacher Training is Crucial Component for Student Success

Through a partnership with U.S. News & World Report, the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) recently released the NCTQ Teacher Prep Review, a report consisting of a review of more than 1,100 teacher preparation programs from around the country. The ratings show only a handful of teacher preparation programs perform at a high level and a significant number are rated as failing.

I commend the National Council on Teacher Quality for putting a spotlight on the need to get more and better data on the quality of our preparation programs. Educator preparation is a critical component to the educator lifecycle and we must be able to ensure consumers, both candidates themselves and districts that are hiring new teachers, are aware of the differentiation among programs and program quality.

In addition, we must work harder to ensure high-quality candidates are attracted to and entering the profession at a much higher rate. We know, for instance, that only 23 percent of all teachers, and only 14 percent of teachers in high-poverty schools, come from the top third of college graduates. 

Contrastingly, high-performing countries like Finland and Singapore are recruiting the best and the brightest into the teaching profession.

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