Traditional education schools are under attack, reports The New York Times. Alternative paths to becoming a teacher, like Teach for America and the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence (the latter was not mentioned in the article), are becoming more popular, threatening the longtime monopoly the education schools have enjoyed. On Tuesday, the New York State Board of Regents voted to allow alternative certification programs to create their own master's degree programs.

Education schools have been criticized by some for focusing on theory and not on the "craft of effective teaching." The Race to the Top program includes extra points for states with alternative certification routes and provides money for traditional and alternative teacher training.

And last year, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan alleged:

"Many, if not most, of the nation's 1,450 schools, colleges and departments of education are doing a mediocre job of preparing teachers for the realities of the 21st-century classroom."

Some leaders of education schools interviewed for the article defended their programs.

Read the full story here.

Are the critics wrong about the education schools?
Are alternative certification programs like Teach for America good for students?
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