IES Reviews Two Teacher Preparation Programs

February 28, 2018

WWC Examines the Evidence on Two Teacher Training Programs

News Summary: If teachers are to have a significant impact on student learning it is necessary for them to be well trained and prepared for the role of teacher.  This report examined the effectiveness of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) and My TeachingPartner Pre-K.  The NBPTS is a professional certification program for teachers that have taught at least three years and can meet the NBPTS standards.  My TeachingPartner Pre-K incorporates multiple media and coaching to prepare early education teachers.  The results of the What Works Clearinghouse review of NBPTS is that it had mixed effects in mathematics in grades 3-8 and no discernable effect on English language arts achievement.  There were no studies that met WWC standards for review so no judgment can be made about its effectiveness.  The results of this review highlight the necessity of evaluating the effectiveness of teacher training programs.  The stakes are very high for the students and families being served by teachers and nationally very large amount of money is spent on training teachers.  It would be nice to know which approaches to teacher professional development are effective and which have no beneficial effect.

Citation: What Works Clearinghouse, Institute for Education Science (2018).  National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Certification Intervention Report. Retrieved from https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/InterventionReport/689

Link: https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/InterventionReport/689