Clinical Practice Framework:
Six Focus Areas for Effective Student Teaching

Too many new teachers start their careers unprepared for the realities of the classroom because they haven't had enough high-quality "hands on" practice. Their students lose out on learning because of it.

NCTQ's new Clinical Practice Framework details the six areas of clinical practice—backed by research and supported by the field—that lead to a strong clinical practice experience.

Explore the Framework

Highlights of our work

Training + Recruitment

Teacher Prep Review: Building Content Knowledge

Teacher Prep Review: Building Content Knowledge

February 2023

New data and analysis from NCTQ finds significant opportunities for teacher preparation programs to improve their coursework requirements to ensure...

Digging Deeper: Which types of institutions achieve excellence and equity for aspiring teachers of color?

Digging Deeper: Which types of institutions achieve excellence and equity for aspiring teachers of color?

July 2022

Building a more diverse teacher workforce is essential to addressing educational inequity for students of color. In this analysis, NCTQ...

Teacher Prep Review: Preparation in Elementary Mathematics

Teacher Prep Review: Preparation in Elementary Mathematics

May 2022

Improving instruction in elementary mathematics is critical to supporting better academic and life outcomes for our students. While weak elementary...

Staffing

Seven strategies school districts are using to increase teacher diversity

Seven strategies school districts are using to increase teacher diversity

March 2023

Several school district leaders shared how they've accomplished recent gains in building a more diverse teacher workforce.

Do States Have the Data they Need to Answer Important Questions about their Teacher Workforce?

Do States Have the Data they Need to Answer Important Questions about their Teacher Workforce?

December 2022

Given both the importance—and dearth—of nuanced, local data on teacher supply and demand, NCTQ set out to understand the key...

Ensuring Students' Equitable Access to Qualified and Effective Teachers

Ensuring Students' Equitable Access to Qualified and Effective Teachers

April 2022

How states have responded to a 2015 federal law that they collect and report on the equitable distribution of teacher...

Evaluation + Support

State of the States 2022: Teacher and Principal Evaluation Policies

State of the States 2022: Teacher and Principal Evaluation Policies

November 2022

Results of the 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress reveal alarming results: Since 2019, scores declined substantially for all students,...

If you want to help new teachers improve, invest in great coaches

If you want to help new teachers improve, invest in great coaches

April 2022

People have life coaches, nutrition coaches, and executive coaches. So, it's no surprise to see schools turning to coaches as...

Seven ways to make improving teacher evaluation worth the work

Seven ways to make improving teacher evaluation worth the work

February 2022

A look at how using evidence-based practices can help ensure that teacher evaluation systems produce positive outcomes.

Compensation

Teacher salaries, cost of rent, and home prices: Can teachers afford to live where they teach?

Teacher salaries, cost of rent, and home prices: Can teachers afford to live where they teach?

May 2023

Lack of affordable housing exacerbates the teacher staffing challenges that many school districts face.

State of the States 2022: Teacher Compensation Strategies

State of the States 2022: Teacher Compensation Strategies

September 2022

Salaries are one of the most powerful policy levers states and school districts can use to attract qualified, effective, and...

Are teacher salaries keeping up with inflation?

Are teacher salaries keeping up with inflation?

March 2022

An in-depth look at whether teacher salary increases have kept pace with rising consumer prices.