A recently released consumer report that assesses the quality of teacher preparation programs across the country has come under fire for using flawed data and faulty methodologies.

Civil Beat blogged about the report on Tuesday. (The findings were also featured in a story that made the front page of the Star-Advertiser.) All the Hawaii university programs included in the study received poor ratings. 

But the report, which was produced by the National Council on Teacher Quality, has since garnered much criticism, with experts and education reporters saying it “does not consider the actual quality of instruction that the programs offer, evidence of what their students learn, or whether graduates can actually teach.”

A blog in the Washington Post notes that most education schools across the country declined to participate in the NCTQ’s data collection for that very reason. Fewer than 1 percent of programs, according to the WaPost, fully cooperated in the study.

The report also graded programs that don’t even exist. 

From the WP blog:

It is clear as reports come in from programs that NCTQ staff made serious mistakes in its reviews of nearly every institution.  Because they refused to check the data – or even share it – with institutions ahead of time, they published badly flawed information without the fundamental concerns for accuracy that any serious research enterprise would insist upon. …

Unfortunately, the answer to the question of what we can learn about teacher education quality from the NCTQ report on Teacher Prep is “not much.”  Without reliable data related to what programs and their candidates actually do, the study is not useful for driving improvement.

Experts say NCTQ is a controversial, ideologically driven organization that is known for being critical of public education and unions. The fact that programs such as those at the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s College of Education have received accreditation, they say, is a testament to their merit. 

Stock photo courtesy of Fotalia. 

— Alia Wong