U.S. Education Department Proposes Reforms to Improve Teacher Preparation Programs

The U.S. Department of Education recently announced its strategy to ensure teachers are ready to enter the classroom by proposing a series of initiatives to reward the best teacher preparation programs, improve the quality at schools of education, and remove burdensome regulations.

"Too many future teachers graduate from prep programs unprepared for success in the classroom," said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan in a prepared statement. "We have to give teachers the support they need to ensure that children get the high quality education they deserve. Our goal is to develop a system that recognizes and rewards good programs, and encourages all of them to improve."

As part of this strategy, the department is initiating a series of reform efforts to ensure future teachers are better supported. First, based on existing authority in the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008, the department is proposing to reduce the reporting burden on schools of education and states, which are currently required to report 440 different measures annually. The department recommends far fewer input measures and at least three significant outcome measures that are indicators of quality. The department wants states to identify the best teacher preparation programs and encourage others to improve by linking student test scores back to teachers and their schools of education. Through negotiated rulemaking, the department hopes to receive the education community's feedback on what this reform should look like and how it would work best for them.

Second, the Department of Education has proposed a $185 million Presidential Teaching Fellows program to support rigorous state-level policies and provide scholarships for future teachers to attend top programs. These future educators would be prepped to teach high-need subjects or fields, and upon graduation, teach for at least three years in high-need schools. In addition, the department is developing Hawkins Centers for Excellence that will help prepare the next generation of effective minority teachers. The President's budget proposes $40 million in first-time funding for this already-authorized program to support and diversify the teaching workforce. Minority-serving institutions will be eligible to receive competitive grants to reform and expand their teacher preparation programs. Funds can be used to partner with local school districts or non-profit organizations to help place minority candidates into high-need schools.

For more information on these efforts, please visit:

U.S. Dept. of Education: Our Future, Our Teachers (September 2011)