Group Criticizes Quality of Most Teacher Ed Programs

The National Council on Teacher Quality -- a group whose evaluations of teacher education programs have been praised by some political leaders but whose methodology has been questioned by teacher educators -- is out with a new set of rankings. While more programs are evaluated, relatively few meet the NCTQ's standards. Of 1,668 programs (at 836 institutions), 26 elementary programs and 81 secondary programs made the council's list of "top ranked programs." And 17 states lack a single top ranked program. Generally, the council found elementary programs to be "weaker" than their secondary counterparts.