Student-Teaching Found to Suffer From Poor Supervision

The student-teaching experience offered by many traditional schools of education couples poor supervision with a lack of rigorous selection of effective mentor-teachers, a controversial report issued today concludes.

Released by the Washington-based National Council on Teacher Quality , the report examines student-teaching practices in 134 education schools, or about one-tenth of such programs nationwide. All but a quarter of the programs reviewed earned a “weak” or “poor” rating.

Among other conclusions, the council contends that colleges are preparing too many elementary-level teachers—perhaps more than double the number needed nationally—thereby taxing both the higher education institution and its partner school districts’ ability to...