Dive Brief:
- A New York initiative supported by Gov. Andrew Cuomo will make the State University of New York's 17 teacher education programs more selective.
- Prospective teachers and principals will now have to maintain a minimum 3.0 grade point average and score highly on the GREs.
- SUNY schools provide 25% of New York's teachers and there were previously no standards for entrance to the programs.
Dive Insight:
The tougher standards are part of Gov. Cuomo's education reform efforts and come just months after a report criticized education schools nationwide for being an "industry of mediocrity." That the school previously had no standards for admission to the programs doesn't do much to counter that argument in its case, but this initiative is a step in the right direction for everyone involved.