After Complaint, Teacher Council Changes Rating

The National Council on Teacher Quality has changed the rating it gave Samford University’s teacher-education program in a scathing study of the content of required reading courses for the nation’s teacher-candidates. The private council cited the report’s oversight of essential information used in the evaluation.

Samford University—a Birmingham, Ala., institution recognized in 2000 by the U.S. Department of Education as a national model for “effective teacher preparation”—has now been given an “unclear” rating by the NCTQ, an upgrade from its original “zero” score.

“What Education Schools Aren’t Teaching About Reading and What Elementary Teachers Aren’t Learning,” released in May, concluded that a majority of U.S. teacher colleges were failing to teach the elements of effective reading instruction. ( "Teacher Ed. Faulted on Reading Preparation," ...