After years of reform, California education schools fall short on new ranking system
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California has been trying to reform how it educates teachers for more than a decade, and some of its ideas have become a model for the rest of the country. But the vast majority of teacher preparation programs in California are still failing to adequately prepare teachers, according to a controversial new report released Tuesday that rated more than 1,200 schools of education across the nation.
The ratings, compiled by U.S. News and World Report and the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ), a pro-accountability advocacy group, are part of an effort to spur improvements in teacher quality. The hope is that if education schools are pushed to do a better job of preparing teachers in the first place, the country can solve many of its academic problems.
Students in an elementary teacher preparation program at California State University-Northridge participate in a lesson prepared by a classmate. Northridge’s undergraduate education classes were rated highly in several categories, but the program overall received a low score. (Photo by Jackie Mader)
“We have scratched an inch deep into the surface of these programs. Just going that deep we find