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The National Council on Teacher Quality released its latest review of teacher-preparation programs for colleges and universities nationwide on Wednesday, and even the area institution that fared very well was critical of the organization’s methods.
“I heard one person say it’s sort of like judging a restaurant based on its menu, rather than on the food and service,” said Joe Rogan, a professor of teacher education at Misericordia, which got two A-plus grades, out of six categories graded, in the rankings.
The problem with the nonprofit’s rating system, Rogan said, is that it relies entirely on a review of paperwork either submitted by the institutions or gleaned from online sources. This means they do not visit the campus to see the program they are rating, and that they can miss important data — particularly if a school doesn’t provide it.
Rogan cited two examples: Misericordia got a “D” in “student teaching” and an “F” in “classroom management.”
But as near as he could tell, Rogan said the former was based solely on Misericordia’s failure to “pick our own cooperating teachers” when setting up where and with whom student teaching occurs. There are simply too many students to make that feasible, Rogan said, and the university trusts area school districts to offer good teachers to help student teachers learn the ropes.
As to the latter, Rogan argued that Misericordia offers more classroom management training “than any other school in the state,” and suspects the bad grade was based on one paper form used in the program.
On its website, NCTQ contends standards for its system “are aligned to rigorous state learning standards and best practices from states and nations with the highest performing students. They were developed in consultation with a broad range of experts and after conducting a wide-ranging review of high-quality research in teacher preparation.”
Wilkes University and King’s College opted against providing any paperwork to NCTQ, citing what they and others contend is a lack of rigor in the evaluation system. Both got C grades or below in the six categories rated.
In written response, Wilkes School of Education Dean Rhonda Rabbitt offered an opinion echoed by King’s College Education Department Chair Denise Reboli.
“(The NCTQ) evaluation is based on incomplete, survey-type information as opposed to evaluation based on a comprehensive regional accreditation or state review process,” Rabbit wrote.
All three stressed their schools work extensively to meet requirements of the Pennsylvania Department of Education and several accrediting agencies. Rogan said meeting those requires can help improve a program. In contrast, he said, the NCTQ rating has “nothing there for us to use.”
Rabbit offered a more stinging rebuke of NCTQ: “We believe that NCTQ continues to be a distracter and negative influence in the conversation of quality and serving educational need.”