The National Council on Teacher Quality has ranked Henderson State University in the Top 25 percent for its secondary teacher preparation programs.
Henderson State’s secondary-school preparation program was ranked third in the state, with a 79th percentile score among all high school prep programs ranked in the country.
“This ranking honors the extraordinary dedication of our faculty to ensuring that all those who graduate from our program are ready to be outstanding educators,” said Dr. Celya Taylor, dean of Teachers College.
The study examines programs’ admission standards, subject-area preparation, requirements for courses on instructional methods, guidance on how to manage a classroom, and whether programs provide and ensure the high quality of practice opportunities.
In December 2016, Henderson State’s elementary-school preparation program was ranked third in the state of Arkansas, with a 91st percentile score among all elementary programs that were ranked in the United States. In addition, the secondary school programs were ranked in October 2015 as a Best Value for educator preparation in the United States.
Rankings for all teacher preparation programs in the state of Arkansas are available online (http://www.nctq.org/teacherPrep/2016/findings/search.do?stateShort=AR).
“At a time when fewer than half of the nation’s teacher prep programs successfully show future teachers both what to teach and how to teach it, it’s great to see programs like Henderson State University proving that there is a better way,” said Kate Walsh, president of NCTQ. “Programs in our top 25 percent understand that their most important job is to deliver well prepared teachers to classrooms, by paying a lot of attention to the nuts and bolts of what it takes to become effective.”
This edition of the Teacher Prep Review analyzes undergraduate programs preparing secondary school teachers. The next set of ratings from NCTQ will appear in Fall 2017, covering graduate and alternative (or nontraditional) programs preparing elementary teachers. The ratings for graduate and nontraditional secondary follow in Spring 2018, followed by undergraduate and graduate special education programs in Fall 2018.