NCATE: NCATE/NCTM, A Partnership for Teaching Excellence















We live in a time of extraordinary and accelerating change. New expectations, new tools, and new ways of teaching and learning mathematics provide continuing challenges for teachers.

Archived March 2001

NCTM/NCATE: A Partnership for Teaching Excellence

BY DR. JOHN THORPE,
Executive Director of the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics

Though our core activities are different, the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) strive for similar and mutually supportive goals. Both organizations exist to improve education in America through quality teaching. NCATE does this through an accreditation process that helps ensure that graduates from accredited institutions are prepared for professional success as teachers. NCTM supports education by supplying teachers already in the field with tools they need to succeed in the classroom and provide a quality education to all students.

NCTM is a member of the NCATE coalition—a group of more than 30 professional organizations representing the teaching field at large. Members from these organizations carry out the professional accreditation process through NCATE as the coordinating mechanism. The NCATE member organizations appoint representatives to NCATE boards, including its Board of Examiners—those individuals who conduct on-site evaluation visits of colleges of education to determine if the education unit meets NCATE standards. Accreditation is conducted through peer review—through people who are actively engaged in the field. Nancy Tanner Edwards, professor of education and mathematics at Missouri Western State College, is the NCTM representative to NCATE’s policy boards. In addition, Marilyn Hala of the NCTM national office is the NCTM staff liaison to NCATE. Both ensure smooth coordination between the two organizations.

NCATE delegates quality assurance in mathematics preparation to NCTM. NCTM reviews accredited institutions’ mathematics teacher preparation programs to determine if they meet NCTM standards. When programs meet these standards, they are awarded “Nationally Recognized” program status. NCATE institutions produce two-thirds of the nation’s new teacher graduates each year. Through its review of accredited institutions’ mathematics preparation programs, NCTM is helping to ensure that tomorrow’s teachers will be prepared for the classroom.

NCATE’s mathematics preparation standards, written by NCTM members and based on NCTM student standards, provide an objective measurement in the review and evaluation of mathematics teacher preparation programs. Other elements that contribute to improving education include continuing professional development for teachers already in service, preparing vision statements and guidelines for curricula, providing educational materials, and hosting conferences.

Through its Academy for Professional Development, NCTM is providing programs to support some of the professional development needs of mathematics teachers. The Academy provides training for mathematics teachers to implement NCTM’s “Principles and Standards for School Mathematics,” released in April, 2000.

“These institutes for professional development will prepare teachers to put NCTM’s Standards into action,” said NCTM President Lee V. Stiff. “The ‘Principles and Standards for School Mathematics’ provides a comprehensive and coherent set of goals for stimulating and challenging students to learn more, and more advanced, mathematics.”

The Academy’s first three institutes were concentrated two-day introductions to NCTM’s “Principles and Standards for School Mathematics.” Future five-day institutes for teachers will further explore the Standards and help teachers develop the requisite knowledge to integrate the Standards into curricula to better educate all students. The Academy will also provide ongoing web-based support for institute participants.

We live in a time of extraordinary and accelerating change. New expectations, new tools, and new ways of teaching and learning mathematics provide continuing challenges for teachers. Through the Academy, we will increase our efforts to provide high-quality professional development opportunities and support for both new and experienced mathematics teachers to meet the challenges of today’s classrooms.

In April 2000, NCTM released its “Principles and Standards for School Mathematics,” a bold vision of mathematics education calling for even more challenging mathematics education for all students. These standards outline an approach that emphasizes the basics while challenging students to achieve a broader understanding of advanced mathematical concepts.. The standards emphasize conceptual understanding, high-level problem-solving skills, and integrating technology into instruction. For teachers, the fundamental tenet of the standards is “higher standards for our students, higher standards for ourselves.”

Teachers rely on this standards-based foundation in today’s classrooms. But perhaps even more importantly, the standards furnish administrators and schools with a clear roadmap for teaching the mathematics that will prepare students for future success in whatever profession they choose. It is these standards that form the basis for the NCATE mathematics standards used in the review of teacher preparation programs in the field.

With more than 100,000 members and more than 250 affiliates, NCTM is the world’s largest organization dedicated to improving mathematics education. The Council’s “Principles and Standards for School Mathematics” provides guidelines for excellence in mathematics education and issues a call for all students to engage in more challenging mathematics. NCTM is dedicated to ongoing dialogue and constructive discussion with all policymakers and stakeholders about what is best for our nation’s students. But foremost, it promotes quality education for all students through the development and dissemination of standards, professional development programs, or research and teaching materials.

Visit the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics website.

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