The University will be closed December 19, 2024 to January 5, 2025. If you need assistance during that time, please call 1-855-OWU-1842 and leave a detailed voicemail along with your contact information. One of our colleagues will respond to your call as soon as possible.
If you would like to make a 2024 gift, please make your gift before midnight on December 31.
DELAWARE, Ohio – Ohio Wesleyan University’s Department of Education is one of just 16 colleges and universities recognized nationwide today with a “Top Tier” rating for its effectiveness in preparing future high school teachers.
The honor comes from the Washington, D.C.-based National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ), a non-partisan research and policy organization “dedicated to ensuring every classroom has an effective teacher.”
NCTQ examined 717 schools and chose to designate 16 as “Top Tier Secondary Teacher Prep Programs.” The designation is based on a comprehensive analysis of each program, with those honored deemed to have solid admission standards, providing sufficient preparation in each candidate’s intended subject area, and showing candidates how best to teach that subject.
“At a time when fewer than half of the nation’s teacher prep programs successfully show future teachers both what to teach and how to teach it, it’s great to see programs like Ohio Wesleyan’s proving that there is a better way,” said Kate Walsh, president of NCTQ. “Programs awarded ‘Top Tier’ status understand that their most important job is to deliver well-prepared teachers to classrooms, by paying a lot of attention to the nuts and bolts of what it takes to become effective.”
Amy McClure, Ph.D., chair of Ohio Wesleyan’s Department of Education, said the university is honored to earn the National Council on Teacher Quality’s ‘Top Tier’ recognition.
“The NCTQ examined our programs to assess the quality of our admission standards, subject-area preparation, requirements for courses on instructional methods, guidance on classroom management, and access to high-quality practice opportunities,” McClure said. “We are very pleased to be rated among the top 3 percent in the nation for the quality of our efforts to prepare the next generation of high school teachers.”
In addition to earning a ‘Top Tier’ rating, Ohio Wesleyan’s Department of Education also is accredited by the Washington, D.C.-based National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). The Council is dedicated to ensuring that teacher-candidates graduate with an in-depth knowledge of the subject matter they plan to teach as well as the skills necessary to convey the material effectively to their students.
To ensure the preparedness of Ohio Wesleyan’s education majors, McClure said, the students spend more than 450 hours in local classrooms observing and assisting teachers and teaching lessons based on ideas they developed in their classes.
Today’s “Top Tier” designations were announced in conjunction with an NCTQ “2017 Landscape” report. The new report provides an overall analysis of U.S. teacher-education programs, identifies potential issues, and makes recommendations for improvement. Read more about the NCTQ, its “Top Tier” list, and its landscape report at www.nctq.org.
Learn more about Ohio Wesleyan’s Department of Education—including all of its undergraduate and post-baccalaureate programs—at www.owu.edu/education.
Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier liberal arts universities. Located in Delaware, Ohio, the private university offers nearly 90 undergraduate majors and competes in 23 NCAA Division III varsity sports. Through Ohio Wesleyan’s signature OWU Connection program, students integrate knowledge across disciplines, build a diverse and global perspective, and apply their knowledge in real-world settings. Ohio Wesleyan is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives,” listed on the latest President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction, and included in the U.S. News & World Report and Princeton Review “best colleges” lists. Learn more at www.owu.edu.