University of Massachusetts - Amherst

A diverse teacher workforce benefits all students, particularly students of color. While there has been real progress over the last twenty years in diversifying the teacher workforce,¹ these gains have not kept pace with a rapidly diversifying student population. To accelerate progress, strategic recruitment efforts by teacher preparation programs are essential.

• Teacher prep enrollment: 11 percent candidates of color²
• Massachusetts teacher workforce: 9 percent teachers of color³
• Local demographics: 31 percent persons of color⁴

Programs earning a C do not sufficiently contribute to the diversification of the teacher workforce. Programs earn this grade under one of three conditions: 1. The percentage of enrolled candidates of color is up to 5 percentage points lower than the diversity of the state teacher workforce and local population; 2. The percentage of enrolled candidates of color meets or exceeds the diversity of the state teacher workforce, but is more than 5 percentage points lower than the proportion of persons of color in the local population; or, 3. The percentage of enrolled candidates of color meets or exceeds the diversity of the local population, but is more than 5 percentage points lower than the proportion of teachers of color in the state workforce.

University of Massachusetts - Amherst is found to be 1.6 percentage points more diverse than the Massachusetts teacher workforce and 19.8 percentage points less diverse than the local population.

All elementary teacher candidates should learn scientifically based reading instruction, the research-based content and methods to effectively teach all children to read. This content should be clearly evident in a teacher preparation program’s course materials, including class session topics, assignments, practice opportunities, and background materials. The five core components of scientifically based reading instruction evaluated under this standard are: Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Fluency, Vocabulary, and Comprehension.

An attempt to review EDUC 615N could not be completed because the necessary documentation was not provided. As a result, the quality of reading instruction at University of Massachusetts - Amherst remains unclear and the program earns a "cannot be determined" designation.

For additional information on how cooperative programs are scored, please review the technical report.

In order for elementary schools to deliver equitable and effective instruction in mathematics to all students, they need their teachers to have acquired the mathematics content and pedagogical knowledge specified in commonly accepted mathematics education standards. To evaluate that coverage, the Elementary Mathematics standard examines the instructional time allocated to each of the five essential topics in coursework required by teacher preparation programs.

To assess performance under this standard, the distribution of instructional time is estimated using syllabi and course descriptions. Only courses that provide content and pedagogical knowledge related to elementary mathematics are considered.

A review of EDUC 463, EDUC 691R, MATH 113, and MATH 114 found the following coverage:

Numbers & Operations: 96 instructional hours*
Recommended target: 45 hours

Algebraic Thinking: 27 instructional hours*
Recommended target: 20 hours

Geometry & Measurement: 31 instructional hours
Recommended target: 25 hours

Data Analysis & Probability: 20 instructional hours
Recommended target: 15 hours

Mathematics Pedagogy: 90 instructional hours
Recommended target: 45 hours

*Please note that for grading purposes, the hours for Numbers & Operations and Algebraic Thinking are summed and measured against a combined target of 65 hours. Under this measure, 123 instructional hours were found.

Note: Regardless of coursework, programs that validate mathematical knowledge by requiring candidates to pass a content knowledge licensing test with an independent cut score for mathematics prior to admission receive 80% of the target instructional hours for each topic that is addressed by the test.

Programs earning an A+ provide the content and pedagogical knowledge elementary teachers need for effective mathematics instruction. Programs earn this grade by allocating at least 150 instructional hours that encompass the five essential topics and by meeting 100% of the recommended target for each topic area.

Analysis of the required coursework for elementary teacher candidates at University of Massachusetts - Amherst found the program to address 100% of the total target recommendation, dedicating adequate instructional time to each of the five topics.

To be successful, elementary teachers need content knowledge in science and social studies, both to build their students' understanding of the world and their critical thinking skills, and also to support students in becoming strong readers. Becoming a strong reader requires cumulative exposure to content knowledge, cutting across multiple domains and disciplines. The courses aspiring teachers take gives them strong background knowledge in these subjects, and in turn, they give this knowledge to students.

This program was not included in the 2023 Building Content Knowledge analysis.

Analysis under the Clinical Practice standard was last completed in 2020. The methodology and summary results for that review can be found here. Individual program grades also remain available.

The next iteration of the standard is currently being designed following the Clinical Practice Framework that was developed using the most up-to-date research and the input of experts.

Analysis under the Classroom Management standard was last completed in 2020. The methodology and summary results for that review can be found here. Individual program grades also remain available.

The next iteration of the standard will be designed following the release of the Classroom Management Framework that is being developed using the most up-to-date research and the input of experts.