As accountability pressures on the nation’s teaching force mount, scrutiny of colleges of education is intensifying as well. There is also a growing focus on teacher preparation as a critical component to school improvement. The Hechinger Report teamed up with news outlets nationwide to consider these critical issues. Here’s a roundup of the reporting:

Programs Offering Alternative Routes to Teacher Careers Grow

May 16, 2013

The Urban Teacher Residency, a partnership among the Los Angeles Unified School District and four Southern California universities, provides an alternative route to the classroom.

California Struggles to Assess Teacher Training Programs

May 16, 2013

California’s efforts at reforming teacher training date back to 1998, and aspects will be copied by other states in the coming years. But have those initiatives actually improved teacher preparation in the Golden State? (Center for Investigative Reporting, Education Week, The Hechinger Report)

California Test for Aspiring Teachers Serving as Model for National…

May 16, 2013

Although it is largely untested and debated among educators, the Performance Assessment for California Teachers has served as a model for a national exam, known as the edTPA, that at least 25 states are introducing.

Florida Plans Increased Scrutiny for Education Schools

Teacher Training Programs’ Success Under Scrutiny

May 20, 2013

In Florida as in much of the nation, education schools must rely on anecdotal evidence from principals and graduates to measure program quality, rather than hard data showing graduates are performing well once they are in the classroom.

Aspiring Teachers Learn From Their Avatars

May 20, 2013

University of Central Florida’s TeachLivE lab, a virtual classroom to train teachers-to-be, helps them isolate and master strategies like higher-level questioning or behavior management. (The Hechinger Report)

Teacher Training Programs Grapple With Recruitment

Reformers Focus On Recruiting Better Students for Teacher Training

May 20, 2013

Reformers who believe better teachers  will lead to greater student achievement are eyeing how teachers are trained in the first place—and finding training programs are lacking.

Teachers’ Teachers Face Test as Scrutiny of Education Rises

June 9, 2013

Following the lead of Tennessee and Louisiana, policymakers in a growing number of states are evaluating the programs — and even issuing report cards for them — based on the test scores of their graduates’ students. Scores of teacher-training programs across the country will likely face similar scrutiny in the coming years.

Indiana Universities Rethink Student Teaching

July 2, 2013

An increasingly popular form of student teaching in Indiana is called co-teaching, where teacher candidates spend their student teaching experience collaborating with classroom teachers. 

Indiana Ponders New Measuring Stick for Student Teachers

July 3, 2013

The pre-teaching assessment, known as edTPA, is a practical evaluation of teacher candidates. Hoping to bring it to Indiana, proponents say that unlike pencil-and-paper tests, edTPA makes teachers prove they are ready to teach before leading their own classrooms.