Published: December 1, 2006

Critical Thinking

In Educating School Teachers , a report published in September by the Education Schools Project , Columbia University’s former Teachers College president Arthur Levine paints a bleak picture of teacher-education programs.

After visiting institutions across the country and conducting surveys, Levine and researchers found that most teaching programs suffer from low standards, out-of-touch faculty, and poor quality control—that, in short, they fail to prepare educators for the classroom.

The report drew both fire and praise even before its official release, and has sparked an ongoing debate. We followed up with Levine and asked him to weigh in.