In the latest National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) report, Teacher Prep Review: Program Diversity and Admissions 2021, Stetson University’s Elementary Education program placed in the top 5% (59 out of 1,256 institutions) nationally for admission standards and diversity, and is one of three leading universities in Florida.
“The Education Department’s strategic plan has a focus on program diversity and recruiting a diverse teacher workforce,” said Chris Colwell, EdD, Education Department chair and associate professor at Stetson. “The national recognition of the work that the entire Stetson community supports in identifying, recruiting and graduating talented and diverse educators is a wonderful achievement.”
Founded in 2000, NCTQ is a nonpartisan, nonprofit research and policy organization that is committed to modernizing the teaching profession. The institution’s report analyzed the diversity of elementary teacher preparation programs by comparing the diversity of the teacher candidates enrolled in the program to the diversity of the state teacher workforce and local community where the program is situated.
NCTQ also evaluated the elementary education programs’ admission standards by ensuring that they met the requirements, including SAT/ACT performance, audition expectations and minimum GPA for each applicant, or average GPA for each cohort of new teacher candidates.
A diverse teacher workforce exposes students to various cultural and social groups, and helps students become better citizens in their communities.
In 2019, research published in Sage Journals’ Review of Educational Research showed that black students and Latino/a students scored higher on standardized tests and had more positive behavioral outcomes when they were assigned to a teacher of the same race/ethnicity.
“The diversity in our nation’s P-12 schools is a source of strength,” said Colwell. “Diversity also is one of Stetson University’s core strengths. It is critical that educators at all levels represent the knowledge, skills and experience of a diverse workforce.”
In addition to Stetson University, other Florida colleges on the list include the University of South Florida and Florida International University.
Jimbo99 says
Imagine that, being diverse employer/program in 2021. And then making a big deal about the demographics of it. They weren’t diverse last year or any time before that ? Top N as well ?
Pogo says
@…and Diversity?
A press release from a school that graduates trumpettes like pam bondi and ashley moody always ought make one extra cautious…
Ravitch: What is NCTQ? (and why you should know)
“By Diane Ravitch
Several months ago, U.S. News & World Report announced that it planned to rank the nation’s schools of education and that it would do so with the assistance of the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ).
Since then, many institutions announced that they would not collaborate. Some felt that they had already been evaluated by other accrediting institutions like NCATE or TEAC; others objected to NCTQ’s methodology. As the debate rated, NCTQ told the dissenters that they would be rated whether they agreed or not, and if they didn’t cooperate, they would get a zero. The latest information that I have seen is that the ratings will appear this fall.
To its credit, NCTQ posted on its website the letters of the college presidents and deans who refused to be rated by NCTQ. They make for interesting reading, as it is always surprising (at least to me) to see the leaders of big institutions take a stand on issues. Two of the conservative Chiefs for Change are on NCTQ’s technical advisory panel.
U.S. News defended the project, saying that it had been endorsed by leading educators. The specific endorsement to which it referred came from Chiefs for Change, the conservative state superintendents associated with former Florida governor Jeb Bush. This article, by the way, has good links to NCTQ’s website, describing the project and its methods…”
Link to complete text, IMO, must reading.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/ravitch-what-is-nctq-and-why-you-should-know/2012/05/23
/gJQAg7CrlU_blog.html