Gordon College Program Named Among Top in the Country for Preparing Future Elementary Teachers to Teach Math

Program Earns National Recognition for Robust Requirements in Key Elementary Mathematics Content and Pedagogy

The undergraduate elementary teacher preparation program at Gordon College has been named among the best in the nation when it comes to ensuring future elementary teachers have the essential content and skills they need to teach mathematics. The National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ), a national research and policy organization that regularly evaluates the core requirements and practices of over 1,100 programs that prepare future elementary teachers released a new report this week in which the undergraduate program at Gordon College earned an A for its requirements in elementary mathematics.

NCTQ evaluated programs for their coverage of both the key mathematics content that elementary teachers need: Numbers and Operations, Algebraic Thinking, Geometry and Measurement, and Data Analysis and Probability, as well as how to teach those concepts (Math Pedagogy). The recommended minimum instructional time that future elementary teachers need in these essential math topics was set based on guidance NCTQ received from teacher preparation programs, mathematicians, and math educators as part of an Expert Panel. Gordon College stands apart by meeting 90% or more of the instructional goals across each of the elementary mathematics topic areas.

Research studies have found that elementary math skills are a strong predictor of whether or not a student will graduate from high school. Recent data has found that students in many states have lost more learning in math than in reading over the past two years and pre-existing gaps in math achievement have worsened since 2020 between low-poverty and high-poverty schools and between majority-White and majority-Black schools, so the need for elementary teachers to be well-prepared to teach mathematics has never been more urgent.

“We know how much math matters in setting a foundation for students,” said Dr. Heather Peske, NCTQ president. “The biggest in-school difference we can make for students’ math learning is to make sure their elementary teachers understand key math content and know how to teach math effectively. Gordon College should be proud to be among the top teacher preparation programs in the country working towards this goal.”

This latest NCTQ recognition is one of many for Gordon’s School of Education. The undergraduate elementary and secondary programs have earned spots on the Top Ranked lists in NCTQ’s Teacher Prep Review. The undergraduate elementary teacher preparation program has been​ named among the top in the country for maintaining selective academic admissions requirements and is one of only 15 in the U.S. to earn an A+ by the NCTQ for its strong commitment to evidence-based reading instruction—an approach used in all of Gordon’s undergraduate and graduate education programs.

See the full NCTQ report to learn more about how Gordon College earned this top score, all scores for elementary teacher preparation programs in Massachusetts, and the full national findings.