The Lipscomb University College of Education’s teacher preparation program was recently named one of the top teacher prep programs in the nation.
Lipscomb’s undergraduate secondary teacher prep program received a four-star ranking in a report compiled by The National Council on Teacher Quality (or NCTQ). Lipscomb is among the top four in the nation, along with Vanderbilt, Ohio State, and Furman.
The schools in the report prepare 99 percent of the nation’s traditionally educated teachers, according to the NCTQ.
Dr. Candace McQueen, dean of the Lipscomb College of Education, says that teaching has become very complex, but she thinks most schools are moving toward the qualities that made Lipscomb stand out.
“The public needs to hear (that) the complexity of teaching is different. The teacher has to know skills very deeply. They have to know how to question. They have to know how to group students. They have to be complex thinkers themselves,” McQueen said in an interview with the Tennessean.
McQueen attributes the high rating to the school’s stringent early requirements for prospective teachers. Education students are put through a rigorous curriculum. The students are expected to master the subject they want to teach and are monitored after they take jobs.
Lipscomb graduates around 80 teachers per year.