NCATE Standards at SUNY Cortland

NCATE or "The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education" is the teaching profession’s mechanism to help to establish high quality teacher, specialist, and administrator preparation. NCATE believes that every student is deserving of a high quality, and caring teacher. NCATE has developed a conceptual framework that each of the institutions this method is taught in need to follow. These "standards" help educators work effectively in P-12 schools. 

Standard 1: Candidate Knowledge, Skills, and Professional 
Disposition
Candidates preparing to work in school as teachers or other school professionals know and demonstrate the content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge and skills, pedagogical and professional knowledge and skills, and professional disposition necessary to help all students learn. Assessments indicate that candidates meet professional, state, and institutional standards. 
Standard 2: Assessment Systems and Unit Evaluation
The unit has an assessment system that collects and analyzes data on applicant qualifications, candidate and graduate performance, and unit operations to evaluate and improve the performance of candidates, the unit, and its programs. 
Standard 3: Field Experiences and Clinical Practice
The unit and its school partners design, implement, and evaluate field experiences and clinical practice so that teacher candidates and other school professionals develop and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and professional disposition necessary to help all students learn.
Standard 4: Diversity
The unit designs, implements, and evaluates curriculum and provides experiences for candidates to acquire and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and professional dispositions necessary to help students learn. Assessments indicate that candidates can demonstrate and apply proficiencies related to diversity. Experiences provided for candidates include working with diverse populations, including higher education and P-12 school faculty, candidates, and students in P-12 schools. 
Standard 5: Faculty Qualifications, Performance, and Development
Faculty are qualified and model best professional practices in scholarship, services, and teaching, including the assessment of their own effectiveness as related to candidate performance. They also collaborate with colleagues in the disciplines and schools. The unit systematically evaluates faculty performance and facilities professional development. 
Standard 6: Unit Governance and Resources
The unit has leadership, authority, budget, personal, facilities, and resources, including information technology resources, for the preparation of candidates to meet professional, state, and institutional standards. 


When first learning of NCATE I was not sure what this organization was, or how it correlated with my learning, because I had been at a community college for the first two years of my education. After transferring to SUNY Cortland and reading about the NCATE standards I now can see that everything I do within the curriculum revolves around these six standards. Reading over these I can think of a lesson I have done, or a class I have been apart of here at SUNY Cortland that has been directly influenced by the NCATE standards. This is why I feel here at SUNY Cortland the NCATE standards are being taught and used effectively for all teacher candidates.