NCATE Examiners in Training Hone the Skill of Skepticism

By Karen Diegmueller

GAINESVILLE, FLA.--Ron G. Joekel wants to know why the 20 or so members of his cadre of future site examiners are all over the map on the question of whether the University of Florida has passed one of the standards established by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education.

On a scale of 0 to 3, with 3 denoting passage, most members of the cadre have given the university a 2 or 3 under the criteria that make up the standard; some have marked 1. Apart from Mr. Joekel, only one or two have written down O.

So why the discrepancy, asks Mr. Joekel, the chairman of educational administration at...