NCATE: Who Is Teaching Your Children? (Release)















Our children deserve the assurance that their teacher is prepared and qualified. The U.S. Department of Education recognizes NCATE as the only professional accrediting body for teacher preparation in the United States.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE—September, 2000
CONTACT: Jane Leibbrand (202) 466-7496

WHO IS TEACHING YOUR CHILDREN?

Do Our Children’s Teachers Know Their Subject Matter?
Do They Know How to Teach It?

Every fall, as parents around the country send their children off to start a new school year, they wonder “Will my child’s teacher be able to teach so that Johnny learns?” Parents worry about the competence of their child’s teacher, and they have cause to do so. As the demand for qualified teachers grows, states are hiring increasing numbers of unlicensed individuals to fill classrooms. To address teacher shortages, most states have “emergency” licensing provisions that allow school districts to circumvent state standards and place unprepared personnel in the classroom. This practice has become more common recently.

Yet states do not sanction “emergency” licensing of doctors, nurses, architects or engineers. These professions require rigorous professional preparation, and the public demands it. Unfortunately, this is not yet the case in teaching. That is why parents have cause for concern.

“Before teachers are in the classroom, they should have undergone a coherent program of study that meets high standards and that is geared to what the teacher and the students need to know,” said National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) President Arthur E. Wise. “That’s what other professionals such as nurses, social workers, and veterinarians are required to do. Even hairdressers complete a uniform course of study and take an examination before they are licensed. Our children deserve the assurance that their teacher is prepared and qualified.” The U.S. Department of Education recognizes NCATE as the only professional accrediting body for teacher preparation in the United States. Accreditation is voluntary and not all colleges of education attain it.

To help parents learn about the qualifications of their children’s teachers, NCATE has developed a series of questions parents can ask their school officials:

Is my child’s teacher licensed to teach?
Is the teacher licensed to teach the particular subject he or she is teaching?
Did my child’s teacher graduate from an NCATE accredited college of education?
Has my child’s teacher been trained to use computers and other new technologies?

“The intricacies of teaching a child to read, to solve math problems, or to understand scientific concepts should not be a trial and error proposition,” added Wise. “The quality of a teacher’s preparation, and his or her performance and knowledge, is the key to a child’s education. Parents can play an important role in demanding qualified teachers. If they ask questions about their children’s teachers, officials will have to begin to take the steps necessary to ensure that every child is taught by a competent, caring, and qualified teacher.”

Earlier this year, NCATE released demanding new standards for teacher preparation. Schools of education will have to meet rigorous new performance-based standards to be accredited by NCATE in the year 2001 and beyond. NCATE’s new standards require institutions to offer proof that candidates for teaching positions have acquired in-depth knowledge of subject matter and can explain important principles and concepts in the classroom. The standards include mechanisms for candidates to improve their skills over time as they listen to feedback from peers, professors, and a variety of P–12 teachers who observe them regularly.

“Parents are usually unaware of the qualifications of their child’s teacher, mostly because the current system obscures that information,” added Wise. “We need truth-in-labeling in our schools. Only those who meet increasingly rigorous requirements—based on demonstrated performance and subject matter knowledge—should be given the title ‘teacher.’ Others who are not qualified teachers should be known by a different title, such as ‘para-teacher’ or ‘instructor.’ Parents should demand that their school system reveal the credentials of its teachers.”

A recent Education Testing Service study that tracked 270,000 teacher candidates who took the licensing exam PRAXIS II found that teachers who had completed a teacher preparation program accredited by NCATE out-performed teachers who had completed a non-accredited program. And both groups of candidates out-performed teacher candidates who had not entered any teacher preparation program. High quality teacher preparation will determine whether students achieve high standards.

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To arrange an interview with Wise, call Jane Leibbrand at (202) 466-7496.

Copyright © 1997–2001, National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education.
All rights reserved. NCATE is the professional accrediting organization for schools, colleges, and departments of education in the United States. It is a coalition of over 30 organizations representing teachers, teacher educators, policymakers, and the public.

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Our children deserve the assurance that their teacher is prepared and qualified. The U.S. Department of Education recognizes NCATE as the only professional accrediting body for teacher preparation in the United States.

WHO IS TEACHING YOUR CHILDREN?

Do Our Children’s Teachers Know Their Subject Matter? Do They Know How to Teach It?

Do Our Children’s Teachers Know Their Subject Matter?
Do They Know How to Teach It?