Understanding Data
Teaching › Preparation
Photo courtesy of Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE),
Goff Junior High School.
In recent years, teacher-preparation institutions have come under intense scrutiny.
Nationally and historically, entrance standards for teaching candidates have been much lower than those for training in other professions. Similarly, the preparation programs themselves have often been found to have weak expectations of what candidates should master before entering the profession.
Early on in her administration, Commissioner Gist and the Regents raised the entrance-exam requirements for prospective teachers. Effective Fall 2011, those requirements will be the highest standards in the nation.
The above changes and others in the teacher-preparation requirements can be found on the RIDE website.
Rhode Island has eight colleges and universities that offer traditional teacher-preparation. RIDE is working directly with all of them to improve their quality.
Also, Rhode Island has two alternative-certification programs: Teach for America and The New Teacher Project are relatively new to the state. Teach for America specializes in training recent college graduates to work in under-served urban or rural areas. The New Teacher Project helps mid-career professionals gain the skills necessary to fill vacancies in chronic shortage areas, such as secondary math, science and special education.