Right now every state does its own thing when it comes to teacher education program oversight, adding another barrier to effective quality control. In order to ensure the maximum benefit from these programs, every state should adopt the same system of accountability indicators. One set of common standards would ensure that quality is defined the same way no matter where the program is located or where the graduate is employed. More than 50 versions of quality standards, policies, and accountability systems for teaching and teacher education currently exist, in contrast to engineering, nursing, accountancy, and medicine, which all have one.
State-specific program accountability practices ignore the fundamentals of teaching and learning, but subject-area knowledge and teaching skills are universals unconstrained by state boundaries. Oversight for preparation program quality should function the same way.
For more on this topic please see: