Assure Quality Teacher Preparation

High quality teacher preparation is a strong predictor of both teacher retention and good teaching practice and all routes to teaching ought to meet the same high standards. Quality teacher preparation provides new teachers with the skills, confidence, and competence to begin their teaching careers. Teacher licensure should validate that teachers who enter the classroom are highly qualified to be there. The most direct route to guaranteeing that schools are staffed with highly qualified teachers is to ensure that (a) they have earned the qualifications needed to teach from an accredited institution and (b) through licensure, they have been measured by performance standards that will ensure the quality of their teaching. States, institutions of higher education, schools, and school districts need to ensure that teacher preparation lays a strong foundation and that licensure guarantees high quality teaching for all students.

Information in this section provides NCTAF's recommendations on strong teacher preparation and how to instill teacher quality assurance.

Urban Teaching Academies

NCTAF's 2004 Summit on High Quality Teacher Preparation

Teacher Quality Assurance

Quality Teacher Preparation