Washington, D.C.— From its founding to the present, NCATE's raison d'etre has been to increase the number and quality of teachers who meet rigorous professional standards so that all children will have access to high quality education. However, since the enactment of NCLB, it has become clear that many children in urban and rural schools do not have access to well-prepared teachers. So long as there is a shortage of well-prepared teachers, many children in urban and rural schools will suffer.

Therefore the NCATE Executive Board issues the following call to action to its member organizations, which represent the professional education and education policymaker communities. The NCATE Executive Board urges all member organizations and other education associations to join NCATE in supporting this action by specific actions and provide a report to NCATE by September 15, 2008:  

NCATE and Social Justice: A Call to Action

We, the members of the education profession, believe that high quality education is a fundamental right of all children. State constitutions require free public schools for all. At least since Brown v Board of Education in 1954, our Nation has struggled to provide equal educational opportunity to all children. Now federal law requires that no child be left behind. Social justice demands that we take appropriate action to fulfill these promises by assuring high quality education for all children.

We believe (and research has demonstrated) that the most important determinant of high quality education is a well-prepared teacher. To achieve this end, our associations established NCATE in 1954 to develop rigorous standards for educator preparation and to evaluate institutions according to those standards.

We believe that all educators should be prepared in institutions that meet NCATE’s performance-based unit and program standards. These standards are periodically revised based on relevant research and input from the education community. NCATE’s standards require educators to demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and professional dispositions to work successfully with children of all races, ethnicities, disabilities/exceptionalities and socioeconomic groups.

NCATE standards require accountability, continuous improvement, clinical practice in P-12 school settings, qualified faculty, and sound governance. At minimum, NCATE standards require that professional education programs prepare candidates who:

• have the content knowledge needed to teach students
• have the pedagogical and professional knowledge needed to teach effectively
• operationalize the belief that all students can learn
• demonstrate fairness in educational settings by meeting the educational needs of all students in a caring, non-discriminatory, and equitable manner
• understand the impact of discrimination based on race, class, gender, disability/exceptionality, sexual orientation, and language on students and their learning.
• can apply their knowledge, skills, and professional dispositions in a manner that facilitates student learning

We recognize the existence of an unacceptable achievement gap based on race, ethnicity, disability/exceptionality and socioeconomic status. The gap is exacerbated by some children being assigned well-prepared teachers and other children being assigned unprepared and under-prepared teachers. Closing the achievement gap requires that all children be educated by teachers and other professional personnel who meet rigorous professional standards. We renew our commitment to social justice in schooling for all children by demanding well-prepared educators for all children.

We pledge to use all tools available to us to assure that:

• All new teachers are well-prepared before children are entrusted to their care.
• All educators have the knowledge, skills, and professional dispositions needed to help all children learn.
• School districts and state authorities assure that every child has a caring, qualified, and effective teacher.

When the education profession, the public and policymakers demand that all children be taught by well-prepared teachers, then no child will be left behind and social justice will be advanced.

NCATE Defines Professional Dispositions

NCATE’s Executive Board has clarified its definition of ‘professional dispositions’ as used within the NCATE accreditation system, and has issued a call to action to ensure that all children are taught by well prepared teachers.

NCATE has given particular attention to clarifying its expectations concerning "professional dispositions" in its definition of "dispositions" which had listed "social justice" as one illustrative example of a professional disposition, among others such as fairness and honesty. NCATE has never required a ‘social justice’ disposition; NCATE expects institutions to select professional dispositions they would like to see in the teachers they prepare. The term ‘social justice,’ though well understood by NCATE's institutions, was widely and wildly misinterpreted by commentators not familiar with the workings of NCATE. NCATE has never had a ‘social justice’ standard and thus did not enforce such a standard. When a draft of the 2008 Standards did not include the example of "social justice" in the glossary definition, NCATE was incorrectly accused by some of caving into pressure to eliminate a standard that it never had, and by others of abandoning its commitment to that non-existent standard. The glossary change was made in order to clarify for all what NCATE's expectations are and are not.

NCATE now defines Professional Dispositions as:

Professional attitudes, values, and beliefs demonstrated through both verbal and non-verbal behaviors as educators interact with students, families, colleagues, and communities. These positive behaviors support student learning and development.

 NCATE expects institutions to assess professional dispositions based on observable behaviors in educational settings . The two professional dispositions that NCATE expects institutions to assess are fairness and the belief that all students can learn. Based on their mission and conceptual framework, professional education units can identify, define, and operationalize additional professional dispositions.