A&M-Commerce Named One of Nation’s Top Teacher Prep Programs by NCTQ

The undergraduate elementary teacher preparation program at A&M-Commerce has been named among the top in the country by the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ), a nonpartisan, not-for-profit research and policy organization that advocates for teacher training in classroom management strategies.

In October, NCTQ released its 2020 Teacher Prep Review: Clinical Practice and Classroom Management, an annual report which declared the early childhood education program at A&M-Commerce received an A-rating for classroom management. The program is among only 14% of elementary programs that earned an A, serving as a model of excellence for others.

Top-performing programs are recognized for requiring student teachers to demonstrate—during student teaching, residency or equivalent clinical practice—their ability to implement these five classroom strategies:

  • Establishing rules and routines that set expectations for behavior;
  • Maximizing learning time by managing time, class materials and the physical setup of the classroom and by promoting student engagement;
  • Reinforcing positive behavior by using specific, meaningful praise and other forms of positive reinforcement;
  • Redirecting off-task behavior through unobtrusive means that do not interrupt instruction and that prevent and manage such behavior and;
  • Addressing serious misbehavior with consistent, respectful and appropriate consequences.

Dr. Kimberly McLeod, dean of the College of Education and Human Services, is proud of the program's A-rating with NCTQ.

“This goes to show there's no better place to be than A&M-Commerce for teacher education,” McLeod said. “Our graduates are well prepared to lead and manage classrooms with integrity and an equity mindset.”

Assistant Dean Juan Araujo said the recognition is well-deserved. “It acknowledges the dedication and hard work of the undergraduate program faculty who deliver world-class education to our pre-service teachers,” he said.

Read the full summary of findings, see all top-performing programs and dig deeper into the methodology at the NCTQ site.