National Council on Teacher Quality

The National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) is a nonprofit organization that "advocates for reforms in a broad range of teacher policies at the federal, state, and local levels," according to its website. In particular, NCTQ supports "a more market-sensitive approach to the structure of the profession, in order to encourage a more equitable distribution of the finest teachers to the schools that need them the most and in the subject areas that are particularly difficult to fill."

According to the Department of Education's Office of Inspector General report on Department PR expenditures in fiscal years 2002 through 2004, NCTQ and the Oquirrh Institute received $677,318 in 2003 - 2004, to "increase the American public’s exposure and understanding of the research and full spectrum of ideas on teacher quality." In 2005, the Office of the Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Education called the NCTQ grant into question because a) it had been approved although two out of three reviewers had recommended against approving it; b) it was unsolicited; and c) NCTQ president Kate Walsh had run op eds without a legally required EDGAR disclosure.

History
The National Council on Teacher Quality was started in 2000 with nearly half a million dollars, according to its federal tax return. In 2001, it received a $5 million two-year grant from the Department of Education to found an organization that would compete with the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards for teaching certification. The National Council on Teacher Quality founded this organization, the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence (ABCTE), in partnership with an organization called the Education Leaders Council.

In 2004, the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence became its own nonprofit organization, and in 2005, NCTQ president Kate Walsh resigned from the board of the ABCTE amid controversy.

However, the NCTQ has continued to push for alternative routes to teacher certification and other corporate education reform policies such as a restriction on teacher seniority using a variety of methods:


 * In 2005, the NCTQ began publishing evaluations of teacher preparation programs.


 * Since 2006, the NCTQ has been producing the State Teacher Policy Yearbook, which compares states on policy issues that the NCTQ advances. Some key policy issues they promote include basing 50% of teacher's evaluation on "evidence of student learning," which in practice means student performance on standardized tests. Another is whether states allow alternative routes to teacher certification.


 * In 2007, the NCTQ launched a national "Teachers Rules, Roles and Rights" database that allowed users to district policies from 50 school districts. The project was funded by the Gates Foundation. This database has now grown to cover more than 100 districts in all 50 states. It is sponsored by the Gates Foundation.


 * Since 2009 and 2001, the NCTQ has been providing analyses of "human capital" policies in several school districts and working with school districts to influence collective bargaining agreements. Districts include Kansas City, Missouri; Baltimore, Maryland; Boston, Massachusetts; Seattle, Washington; and Hartford, Connecticut.


 * Currently, the NCTQ is collaborating with US News and World Report on a report "grading" teacher preparation programs. The $3.6 million project is funded by foundations such as the Carnegie Corporation and the Broad Foundation.

Partial list of grants
According to Media Transparency, NCTQ has received funding from:
 * Smith Richardson Foundation
 * $75,000 in 2001, to provide "up-to-date information to policy makers and school administrators about how they can assess the performance of teachers"
 * $75,000 in 2002, for "Improving Teacher Quality Through Innovation and Information"
 * $125,000 in 2003, to "convene a conference and commission research that will examine approaches to training and licensing teachers"
 * Fordham Foundation
 * $25,000 in 2000, in support of program development for 2000
 * $105,000 total in 2001 "in support of promoting a commonsense strategy for boosting teacher quality"
 * $26,107 in 2002
 * $30,000 in 2003, to support the Teacher Research Laymen's Guide project
 * $30,000 in 2004, for general operations
 * $30,000 in 2005, to support development of the State Policy Yearbook

Total funding
The National Council on Teacher Quality tax returns list the organization's total income as follows:

Year		Amount 2000		473,579 2001		1,523,636 2002		2,627,307 2003		3,189, 982 2004		1,911,527 2005		561,483 2006		791,032  2007		1,442,127  2008		1,822,320

List of funders in 2011
The following organizations funded the NCTQ in 2011:

B & L Foundation

Barksdale Reading Institute

Barr Foundation

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Carnegie Corporation of New York

Chamberlin Family Foundation

Daniels Fund

Doris and Donald Fisher Fund

Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

Finnegan Family Foundation

Foundation for the MidSouth

Gleason Family Foundation

Goldsmith Family Foundation

Houston Endowment

Joyce Foundation

Longfield Family Foundation

Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education

Phil Hardin Foundation

Polk Bros Foundation

Rockwell Collins, Inc.

Searle Freedom Trust

Steans Family Foundation

The Aaron Straus and Lillie Straus Foundation

The Abell Foundation

The Boston Foundation

The Bower Foundation

The Brookhill Foundation

The Edythe and Eli Broad Foundation

The Garner Foundation

The George Gund Foundation

The Harold Whitworth Pierce Charitable Trust

The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation

The Morton K. and Jane Blaustein Foundation

The Osa Foundation

The Teaching Commission

The Walker Foundation

Personnel in 2011
The Board of Directors in 2011 is:

Barbara O'Brien, Chair

Stacey Boyd

Chester E. Finn, Jr.

Ira Fishman

Marti Watson Garlett

Henry L. Johnson

Donald N. Langenberg

Clara M. Lovett, treasurer

Carol G. Peck

John L. Winn, vice-chair

Kate Walsh (US), president

The 2011 advisory board includes:

Steven J. Adamowski, Superintendent, Hartford Connecticut Public Schools

Michael Barber, Partner and Global Head of Education, McKinsey & Company

Roy E. Barnes, Partner, The Barnes Law Group

Cynthia G. Brown, Director of Education Policy, Center for American Progress

David Chard, Dean, School of Education and Human Development, Southern Methodist University

Andrew Chen, President, EduTron

Celine Coggins, Founder and CEO, Teach Plus

Paula S. Dominguez, Rhode Island House of Representatives

Jo Lynne DeMary, Director, Center for School Improvement, Virginia Commonwealth University

Michael Feinberg, Founder, KIPP

Michael Goldstein, CEO and Founder, The Match School, Massachusetts

Eric A. Hanushek, Senior Fellow, The Hoover Institution

Joseph A. Hawkins, Senior Study Director, Westat

Frederick M. Hess, Scholar, American Enterprise Institute

Paul T. Hill, Director, Center for Reinventing Public Education

E.D. Hirsch, Author and Founder, Core Knowledge Foundation

Michael Johnston, State Senator, Colorado

Barry Kaufman, President, BK Education Consulting Services

Frank Keating, President and CEO, American Council of Life Insurers

Martin J. Koldyke, Founder and Chairman, Academy for Urban School Leadership

Wendy Kopp, CEO and Founder, Teach For America

Tom Lasley, Executive Director, EDvention

Amy Jo Leonard, Teacher, Turtle Mountain Elementary School, North Dakota

Deborah McGriff, Partner, NewSchools Venture Fund

Ellen Moir, Executive Director, New Teacher Center

Robert H. Pasternack, Vice President, Voyager Expanded Learning

Michael Podgursky, Professor, Dept. of Economics, U. of Missouri-Columbia

Michelle Rhee, Founder and CEO, StudentsFirst

Stefanie Sanford, Director, US Program Policy & Advocacy, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Daniel Willingham, Professor, University of Virginia

Suzanne Wilson, Professor and Chair, Department of Teacher Education, Michigan State University

The staff in 2011 is:


 * Tami Anderson, research assistant
 * Kathleen Bolles, comptroller
 * Sarah Brody, policy analyst
 * Emily Cohen, district policy director
 * Graham Duke, team leader
 * Pat Giles, office manager
 * Julie Greenberg, senior policy analyst
 * Sandi Jacobs, vice president
 * Arthur McKee, managing director
 * Chase Nordengren, team leader
 * Laura Pomerance, policy analyst
 * Robert Rickenbrode, director
 * Priya Varghese, policy analyst
 * Kate Walsh (US), president

Earlier personnel
According to their website, NCTQ staff include:
 * Kate Walsh (US) - president
 * Jess Castle - policy analyst
 * Michael O'Neal - writer
 * Lisa Barry - research fellow
 * Tess Mullen - research fellow
 * Colleen Hale - graphic designer and web manager

The NCTQ board of directors includes:
 * Andrew Rotherham
 * Gaynor McCown
 * Danielle Wilcox
 * Stacey Boyd
 * Chester E. Finn, Jr.
 * Ira Fishman

And the NCTQ advisory board includes:
 * Dr. Steven J. Adamowski
 * Governor Roy E. Barnes
 * Alan D. Bersin
 * Lawrence S. Braden
 * Cheryl Ellis
 * Michael Feinberg
 * Ronald F. Ferguson
 * Eleanor Gaines
 * Michael Goldstein
 * Eric A. Hanushek
 * Dr. Frederick M. Hess
 * Dr. Paul T. Hill
 * Dr. E.D. Hirsch
 * Jan Hungate
 * Jason Kamras
 * Governor Frank Keating
 * Lisa Graham Keegan
 * W. Michael Kelley
 * Dr. Paul Kimmelman
 * Martin J. Koldyke
 * Wendy Kopp
 * Hailly Korman
 * Dr. Deborah McGriff
 * Dr. William Moloney
 * Dr. Robert H. Pasternack
 * James A. Peyser
 * Michael Podgursky
 * Michelle Rhee
 * Felicity Messner Ross
 * Stefanie Sanford
 * Kim Smith
 * Dr. Lewis C. Solmon
 * Thomas Toch
 * Joseph Wilson

Contact Information
National Council on Teacher Quality 1225 19th Street NW Suite 800 Washington, DC 20036 Tel: 202 222-0561 Fax: 202 222-0570 Email: info@nctq.org Website: http://www.nctq.org

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Department of Education
 * Oquirrh Institute
 * Covert propaganda

External resources

 * Department of Education Office of Inspector General, "Review of Department Identified Contracts and Grants for Public Relations Services" (ED-OIG / I13F0012), issued September 1, 2005; available in MS Word (432K) and PDF (214K) formats.


 * Greg Toppo, "Report: Education Dept. funds need monitoring," USA Today, September 3, 2005.


 * National Board for Professional Teaching Standards


 * American Board for Certification of Teaching Excellence
 * Media Transparency
 * United States Accounting Office Report