Influence of Teacher Education Accrediting Body Grows

By Ann Bradley

Washington

With the recent approval of three new state partnerships, the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education has seen its influence over teacher education double in the past five years.

At their annual board meeting here last month, NCATE leaders approved partnerships with Alaska, Missouri, and New York.

The Washington-based accreditation group, which appeared vulnerable to critics from higher education and state legislatures only a few years ago, now has formal agreements with 43 states and the District of Columbia to jointly...