Report: Teachers' Schools Not Measuring Up

CHICAGO (CBS) - A new report says some of the best-known teacher education programs in Illinois do not make the grade for training educators.

The study found that many programs do not prepare teachers for the classroom, especially when it comes to teaching mathematics and reading.

For the study, the National Council on Teacher Quality looked at 111 programs – both undergraduate and graduate – in 53 education schools around the state, the Chicago Tribune reported. Many, including Illinois State University and Northern Illinois University, were deemed inadequate, the Chicago Tribune reported.

The study found that elementary teachers in Illinois were ill-prepared "on every front."

"Only 20 percent are giving teachers the tools they will need to teach all children, not just some, how to read; and only 3 percent are doing enough to counter the math phobia of so many elementary teachers by providing sufficient and relevant math content," a news release said.

The study also found that too many schools did not recognize the importance of taking the "most academically capable" students, and few schools ensure student teaching experiences are "of high quality."

Only one program the school evaluated, at Northwestern University, received an A-minus, the Tribune reported. Some other schools received praise in the study, including Elmhurst College, Lake Forest College, Loyola University, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Principia College, according to the Tribune. The graduate programs in education at the University of Chicago and the Illinois Institute of Technology were also rated high.

But deans from the schools – both those rated high and low – said the report fails to measure how well teachers perform once they finish school and arrive in classrooms.

More information at www.nctq.org/edschoolreports/illinois/