National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education
Program Standards
For
Elementary Teacher
Preparation
Synopsis
DESIGN OF PROGRAM STANDARDS
* References to the title are frequently shortened to Program Standards in this paper.
The Program Standards for Elementary Teacher Preparation contain standards for
teacher candidates as they complete an elementary teacher preparation program in an
NCATE accredited school, college or department of education. The standards, detailed
in Part I of this paper, are grouped in five major categories:
- development, learning, and motivation
- curriculum
- instruction
- assessment
- professionalism
These closely follow the ten "model standards" for teacher licensure from the Interstate
New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC), a project of the Council of
Chief State School Officers. The INTASC models were made part of the NCATE "unit"
accreditation standards in 1995. These Program Standards elaborate on those from
INTASC for development, learning, and motivation; add detail on curriculum for the
subject content of elementary teaching; and make collaboration with families a separate
part of professionalism from collaboration with colleagues and the community. The
intent is to align NCATE program standards with the work of INTASC and trends in state
teacher licensure practices, and also to build on the moves toward the performance-based
accreditation system that NCATE is developing.
The contents of these program standards for preparation of elementary teacher candidates
reflect recent versions of standards for students and standards for teachers that have been
prepared by national projects (such as the National Research Council science standards)
or education associations (such as the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
standards). They differ from previous NCATE program standards in that they describe
what teacher candidates should know and be able to do so that students learn, rather than
what topics should be included in the teacher preparation coursework or the nature of
field experiences offered to candidates.
The standards, and their accompanying supporting explanations, exhibit four complementary attributes for teacher candidates.
- First, many of them describe knowledge that candidates should possess about subject
content, pedagogy, child development and learning, motivation, instruction,
assessment and the qualities of a professional.
- A second group describes abilities that candidates should master to apply that
knowledge effectively in the classroom and other professional teaching situations,
including collaboration with colleagues.
- Third, some standards and explanations describe dispositions usually associated with
candidates who go on to successful teaching careers.
- And, fourth, some sentences and phrases describe teacher candidates' ability to have
positive effects on student learning--the purpose of education.
The Program Standards include all four of these attributes within the phrase "what
teacher candidates should know and be able to do so students learn," or, alternatively,
"teacher candidates know their subject and can teach so students learn."
What makes the new approach to program review performance-based is the evidence that
institutions are asked to provide. The essential feature is that institutions demonstrate--with assessment information--that candidates are proficient in the full scope of the
standards, including evidence of positive effects on student learning. Teacher preparation
units are no longer required to provide syllabi or to construct a matrix specifying the
content of courses and experiences. This shift also builds on the 1995 NCATE unit
standards. Current unit standards require that institutions monitor and assess the progress
of candidates, establish and publish criteria or outcomes for exit, and provide candidates
appropriate academic and professional advisement from admission through completion of
their professional education programs. These new Program Standards make use of
information from candidate monitoring and assessment.
As detailed in Part II, institutions seeking national recognition of their elementary
preparation program are expected to offer information from candidate assessments and
monitoring that demonstrates candidates' mastery of the knowledge and skills included in
the standards. That information would sample assessment results for candidates in a
program--summarizing those results for the candidates as a group, rather than displaying
performance of individuals--in a way that fairly represents the standards, including each
of the four attributes described above. A context statement assists reviewers'
understanding of the program through complementary information, including the unit's
reasoned arguments for its actions in two critical areas: (1) opportunities the program
provides so that candidates can learn and practice the content of standards, and (2) how
the faculty have confidence in their judgments that candidates have mastered the
institution's expectations for program completers.
In the Appendix of the Program Standards, the Drafting Committee sets outs its
overriding view that student learning is the goal of teacher preparation. The Committee
links its strategy for performance-based program review in teacher education with current
state K-12 reforms, with state licensing and the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and
Support Consortium, and with certification of accomplished teachers by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. All are founded on the concept of setting
explicit standards and measuring performance in relation to those standards. As applied
to teacher preparation, the standards express what teacher candidates--as they complete
their preparation program--should know and be able to do so that children learn.
State licensure tests, taken by candidates at program completion or during induction
years, can serve as important sources of candidate proficiency information. Currently
some licensure tests measure subject content knowledge, and a few examine knowledge
of pedagogy in the content area. Such assessments are also important because they are
used by states for accountability purposes in teacher preparation. But while these tests
can provide necessary information about candidate knowledge, they are not sufficient,
alone, to inform about proficiencies across all the standards set for candidates--knowledge, teaching, dispositions, and ability to have positive effects on student learning.
How, then, will decisions be made in the NCATE performance-based program review
while state licensing requirements continue to evolve? In short, decisions will be made
through comparisons: information on candidate proficiencies from an elementary
preparation program will be compared with exemplars of such proficiencies identified
through professional judgment.
As the Drafting Committee sees it, NCATE and the specialty organizations will identify
and evaluate numerous examples of assessment exercises, each with explicit descriptions
indicating the level of proficiency that is appropriate to expect of candidates completing
their program. These examples, which the Committee calls "benchmarks," will be
available on the NCATE and specialty organization web sites, both alerting faculty to the
expectations for program review, and guiding individuals who conduct those reviews.
The Committee anticipates that institutions will gather candidate proficiency information
from a variety of sources: the teacher preparation courses and field experiences, including
samples of student work in classes where candidates teach; and also from external origins
such as arts and sciences courses, state licensure exams and employer evaluations.
Institutions will establish rubrics or criteria by which to judge candidates, then provide
sampled and summarized results for the NCATE program review. Program reviewers
will make holistic comparisons between the overall results from the institution and the
proficiency "benchmark" levels.
The Appendix also expresses understandings of Committee members about what the
current assessment state-of-the-art makes it possible to achieve in responsible
assessments of elementary teacher candidate proficiencies. A sound system for
performance evidence:
- Results from planned, purposeful, and continuing evaluation of candidate
proficiencies, drawing on diverse sources
- Represents the scope of the standards for elementary teacher preparation
- Measures the different "attributes" of standards in appropriate and multiple
ways
- Results from rigorous and systematic efforts by the institution to set
performance levels and judge accomplishments of its candidates
- Provides information that is credible--accurate, consistent, fair and avoiding bias
- Makes use of appropriate sampling and summarizing procedures
- And, of course, institutions with sound assessment systems use the data to improve
programs and teaching, and to assist individual candidates.
CONTENT OF THE STANDARDS
What should elementary teacher candidates know and be able to do to have positive
effects on student learning? This is the text of the standards for elementary teacher
candidates excerpted from the pages in Part I.
DEVELOPMENT, LEARNING AND MOTIVATION
1. Development, Learning and Motivation--Candidates know, understand, and use the major
concepts, principles, theories, and research related to development of children and young
adolescents to construct learning opportunities that support individual students' development,
acquisition of knowledge, and motivation.
CURRICULUM
2. Central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of content--Candidates know, understand,
and use the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of content for students across the K-6
grades and can create meaningful learning experiences that develop students' competence in
subject matter and skills for various developmental levels;
2.1 English language arts--Candidates demonstrate a high level of competence in use of English
language arts and they know, understand, and use concepts from reading, language and child
development, to teach reading, writing, speaking, viewing, listening, and thinking skills and to
help students successfully apply their developing skills to many different situations, materials, and
ideas;
2.2 Science--Candidates know, understand, and use fundamental concepts in the subject matter of
science--including physical, life, and earth and space sciences--as well as concepts in science
and technology, science in personal and social perspectives, the history and nature of science, the
unifying concepts of science, and the inquiry processes scientists use in discovery of new
knowledge to build a base for scientific and technological literacy;
2.3 Mathematics--Candidates know, understand, and use the major concepts, procedures, and
reasoning processes of mathematics that define number systems and number sense, geometry,
measurement, statistics and probability, and algebra in order to foster student understanding and
use of patterns, quantities, and spatial relationships that can represent phenomena, solve problems,
and manage data;
2.4 Social studies--Candidates know, understand, and use the major concepts and modes of
inquiry from the social studies--the integrated study of history, geography, the social sciences,
and other related areas--to promote elementary students' abilities to make informed decisions as
citizens of a culturally diverse democratic society and interdependent world;
2.5 The arts--Candidates know, understand, and use--as appropriate to their own understanding
and skills--the content, functions, and achievements of dance, music, theater, and the several
visual arts as primary media for communication, inquiry, and insight among elementary students;
2.6 Health education--Candidates know, understand, and use the major concepts in the subject
matter of health education to create opportunities for student development and practice of skills
that contribute to good health;
2.7 Physical education--Candidates know, understand, and use--as appropriate to their own
understanding and skills--human movement and physical activity as central elements to foster
active, healthy life styles and enhanced quality of life for elementary students;
2.8 Connections across the curriculum--Candidates know, understand, and use the connections
among concepts, procedures, and applications from content areas to motivate elementary students, build understanding, and encourage the application of knowledge, skills, and ideas to real world
issues.
INSTRUCTION
3.1 Integrating and applying knowledge for instruction--Candidates plan and implement
instruction based on knowledge of students, learning theory, subject matter, curricular goals, and
community;
3.2 Adaptation to diverse students--Candidates understand how elementary students differ in their
development and approaches to learning, and create instructional opportunities that are adapted to
diverse students;
3.3 Development of critical thinking, problem solving, performance skills--Candidates understand
and use a variety of teaching strategies that encourage elementary students' development of
critical thinking, problem solving, and performance skills;
3.4 Active engagement in learning--Candidates use their knowledge and understanding of
individual and group motivation and behavior among students at the K-6 level to foster active
engagement in learning, self motivation, and positive social interaction and to create supportive
learning environments;
3.5 Communication to foster collaboration--Candidates use their knowledge and understanding
of effective verbal, nonverbal, and media communication techniques to foster active inquiry,
collaboration, and supportive interaction in the elementary classroom.
ASSESSMENT
4. Assessment for instruction--Candidates know, understand, and use formal and informal
assessment strategies to plan, evaluate and strengthen instruction that will promote continuous
intellectual, social, emotional, and physical development of each elementary student.
PROFESSIONALISM
5.1 Practices and behaviors of developing career teachers--Candidates understand and apply
practices and behaviors that are characteristic of developing career teachers;
5.2 Reflection and evaluation--Candidates are aware of and reflect on their practice in light of
research on teaching and resources available for professional learning; they continually evaluate
the effects of their professional decisions and actions on students, parents, and other professionals
in the learning community and actively seek out opportunities to grow professionally;
5.3 Collaboration with families--Candidates know the importance of establishing and
maintaining a positive collaborative relationship with families to promote the academic, social and
emotional growth of children;
5.4 Collaboration with colleagues and the community--Candidates foster relationships with
school colleagues and agencies in the larger community to support students' learning and well-being.
REQUIREMENTS FOR INSTITUTIONAL SUBMISSIONS
There are two parts to institutional submissions. These replace all requirements for
overview information, as well as syllabi and matrices detailing course contents and
experiences offered in elementary teacher preparation programs.
Eighteen months prior to an expected Board of Examiners visit for initial unit accreditation, or twelve
months prior to a continuing visit, each institution offering an elementary teacher preparation program will
submit:
1. A summary description of the context in which the program is conducted. This statement,
ranging from 20 to 30 pages, will contain any information that institutional representatives
believe reviewers should take into account while judging the quality of the program through
candidate performance. The context statement is also to include the institution's strongest,
reasoned case: (a) demonstrating its opportunities for candidates to learn and practice the
content of the standards, and (b) showing how faculty have confidence in their judgments that
candidates have mastered the institution's expectations for program completers.
2. Performance material, not exceeding 140* pages including attachments, that summarizes the
knowledge and skills proficiencies of elementary teacher candidates as a group. This
information constitutes the primary evidence upon which a judgment of national program
recognition will be made.
*NCATE suggested limited. Some flexibility is permitted.
Content Copyright 
2000 by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education.
All rights reserved
Format and Programming Copyright 2003 by the Association for Childhood Education International.
All rights reserved
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