SUU Teacher Education Program Among Best In The Nation

Students looking to become teachers may have no better option than Southern Utah University in Cedar City. The university has just been given an A+ in preparing future elementary teachers to teach children to read.

The report was issued by the National Council on Teacher Quality. This places SUU as one of the best in the nation.

The program is among just 48 nationwide and three in Utah highlighted by NCTQ for going above and beyond the standards set by literacy experts for coverage of the most effective methods of reading instruction—often called the “science of reading.”

To evaluate the quality of preparation being provided, a team of experts at NCTQ analyzed syllabi, including lecture schedules and topics, background reading materials, class assessments, assignments, and opportunities to practice instruction in required literacy courses for undergraduate elementary teacher candidates at SUU.

To earn an A+ distinction, programs needed to comfortably exceed NCTQ’s targets for coverage of the five core components of scientifically based reading instruction—phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension—and not teach any instructional practices that are unsupported by research, such as the debunked three-cueing method, which can inhibit students’ progress in reading.

While some portion of children will learn to read naturally, research suggests that over 90% of children could learn to read if their teachers used instructional methods grounded in the science of reading.

The new NCTQ analysis of teacher preparation programs’ coverage of the science of reading was developed over the course of two years, involving teams of literacy experts, researchers, teacher preparation leaders, and educators. NCTQ evaluated 693 traditional undergraduate and graduate programs across the country, including eight in Utah. Overall, just 23% of programs earned an A or A+ grade.

According to a press release, the SUU Teacher Education program “is committed to developing and nurturing educators who value all people in the communities they serve. Such professional educators will act as agents of change, advocate for equity and justice in their schools and communities, and will embolden students to do the same.”

Anyone interested in learning more about the Teacher Education program at Southern Utah University can click here.