Statement by Edward J. McElroy,
 President of the American Federation of Teachers,
on the National Science Foundation’s report showing preparation of U.S. middle school
 math teachers not as good as their international counterparts

Note: A National Science Foundation (NSF) report released Tuesday found that U.S. middle school mathematics teachers are not as well-prepared as many of their counterparts in five other countries, which might be affecting student achievement.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The warning light has been flashing for years about higher education’s teacher preparation programs, and this report is yet another cry for an overhaul. As middle school mathematics becomes increasingly more challenging, teacher education programs in the subject simply must keep up. Math teachers need to know their subject thoroughly and must learn how to teach it to students. 

There has been scattered progress since the AFT issued an urgent call in April 2000 for a national commitment to reshape teacher preparation, but much more needs to be done. The AFT’s “Building a Profession” report on teacher preparation and induction included two recommendations that are particularly apt in light of the NSF’s report showing deficiencies in U.S. teachers’ subject knowledge and pedagogical skills. 

The AFT called on higher education institutions to require an academic major in addition to pedagogical and liberal arts coursework. The major “must also be comprehensive enough to prepare prospective teachers to help their students meet the new, more demanding K-12 education standards,” the AFT report said.  It also recommended strengthening prospective teachers’ clinical experience by using successful models, including pairing student teachers with well-trained classroom teachers chosen by their peers on the basis of excellence. The report said clinical experience is best when the public school’s faculty embraces the mission of preparing new teachers, has allocated resources to that mission, and has a professional culture that supports it.

“Building a Profession” can be downloaded at: www.aft.org/pubs-reports/higher_ed/k16report.pdf

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