The University of Alaska Anchorage College of Education’s commitment to excellence in producing quality teachers for our nation’s children was recognized this month when it received full national accreditation under the performance-oriented standards of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). 

NCATE is the organization responsible for professional accreditation of teacher education.  NCATE currently accredits 614 institutions which produce two-thirds of the nation’s new teacher graduates each year.  NCATE-accredited schools must meet rigorous standards set by the profession and members of the public.

Studies show that teacher quality is the most important factor in P–12 student achievement.  But how do we know that our children’s teachers enter the classroom ready to help them learn?  Professional accreditation is one way to ensure the public that schools of education are graduating well-qualified teachers ready for today’s classrooms.  NCATE revises its standards every five years to incorporate best practice and research in order to ensure that the standards reflect a consensus about what is important in teacher preparation today.  In the past decade, NCATE has moved from an accreditation system that focused on curriculum and what teacher candidates were offered, to a data driven performance-based system dedicated to determining what candidates know and are able to do.

The new system expects teacher preparation institutions to provide compelling evidence of candidate knowledge and skill in the classroom.  Multiple types of performance assessment are expected throughout the program of study.  Candidate qualifications are assessed upon entry, and candidate competence is assessed throughout the program as well as prior to internship work, and before completion of the program.  Meeting NCATE accreditation standards also helps institutions prepare new teachers for new, more rigorous licensing standards in many states.  NCATE accreditation standards incorporate the model state licensing principles developed by a task force of the Council of Chief State School Officers.

Current standards require: teacher candidates to have in-depth knowledge of the subject matter that they plan to teach as well as the skills necessary to convey it so that students learn; the college or university to carefully assess knowledge and skills to determine that candidates may graduate; the institution to have partnerships with P-12 schools that enable candidates to develop the skills necessary to help students learn; candidates to be prepared to understand and work with diverse student populations; college and university faculty to model effective teaching practices; and, finally, the school, college, or department of education must have the resources, including information technology resources, necessary to prepare candidates to meet the new standards.

“NCATE accreditation is especially noteworthy for UAA’s College of Education, as this is only our fourth year as a newly organized College, said Dr. Mary Snyder, Dean of the College of Education. “The College serves over 1300 undergraduate and graduate students, and offers programs in Early Childhood Development, Early Childhood Education, Elementary Education, Secondary Education, Special Education, Early Childhood Special Education, Speech and Language Pathology, Counselor Education, Educational Leadership and Adult Education.”

The U. S. Department of Education recognizes NCATE as a specialized accrediting body for schools, colleges, and departments of education. NCATE is composed of more than 30 professional and policymaker organizations representing millions of Americans committed to quality teaching. It was founded in 1954 by the teaching profession and the states. NCATE continues its mission today: the profession and the states working together for excellence in teacher preparation and development.

UAA is the third Alaska teacher education program, along with UAS and UAF, to become nationally accredited.  UAA’s College of Education prepares nearly 30% of the State’s teacher education graduates.  In 2004-2005, the College of Education had an overall student enrollment increase of 19%, and received the largest grant in the history of UAA ($9.3 million from the US Department of Education).  

Snyder adds, “A successful NCATE visit depends not only on the dedication of the COE faculty and staff, but also on our colleagues across campus, P-12 school partners, alumni, candidates, and others constituents who have given their support in building quality programs to meet Alaska’s needs.”

For more information about the University of Alaska Anchorage’s teacher education program, visit the website at http://coe.uaa.alaska.edu. More information about NCATE is available at www.ncate.org .