NATCHITOCHES – Northwestern State University’s School of Education earned an A in early reading standards in a study completed by the National Council on Teacher Quality.  NCTQ released scores Jan. 27 for the 2020 Teacher Prep Review after researching teacher preparation programs that provide elementary teacher candidates with skills in teaching children to read.

 

NSU’s Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education with 1-5 Certification was part of a small group of programs nationwide to earn an A grade, according to Dr. Katrina Jordan, director of the School of Education.  Only about a quarter of programs nationwide qualified for the grade A.

 

Northwestern State’s School of Education was also the only program in Louisiana to earn a B for its Practitioner Teacher Program (PREP), an alternate certification program that allows individuals who already have an undergraduate degree to earn certification on a fast track program. NSU’s PREP program was ranked fourth in the nation.

 

“Northwestern State University’s School of Education continues to demonstrate excellence in all of our programs,” Jordan said.  “I am delighted that we are, once again, recognized by the National Council on Teacher Quality as a program of excellence. For both our undergraduate and alternative certification programs to be identified as exemplary programs in the area of early reading instruction is thrilling. We at NSU are proud to continue our tradition of preparing high-quality educators to meet the needs of PK-12 students.”

 

According to NCTQ findings, NSU provided teacher candidates with repeated instruction each of the five components of reading instruction, supported instruction with textbooks that detail established principles of scientific reading practices and create opportunities for teacher candidates to demonstrate mastery through in-class assignments, tests and fieldwork.

 

Information on the early reading standard study and its methodology can be found at https://www.nctq.org/pages/TPREarlyReadingMethodology.

 

NCTQ is a research and policy group that advocates for evaluations of classroom teachers and is primarily known for its Teacher Prep Review, a report that evaluates teacher preparations programs nationwide.  Information on NCTQ can be found at nctq.org.

 

Information on NSU’s School of Education and degree programs is available at education.nsula.edu.