Rocky Mountain College Earns National Recognition for Preparing Future Elementary Teachers in the Science of Reading
RMC elementary education program achieves top marks in new report from the National Council on Teacher Quality
Billings, Montana—The undergraduate elementary teacher preparation program at Rocky Mountain College has earned an A+ from the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) for how well they prepare future teachers to teach reading to elementary students.
The report, Teacher Prep Review: Decoding Progress in Reading Preparation, published on June 9, spotlights Rocky Mountain College for meeting the standards set by literacy experts for coverage of the most effective methods of reading instruction. Specifically, this means the program is preparing aspiring teachers in all five components of scientifically based reading instruction, including phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary, and avoids many instructional practices that research has shown to be ineffective or counterproductive for teaching children to read.
A child’s ability to read proficiently in the early grades shapes everything that comes next in school and in life, yet according to NAEP data, four in ten fourth graders in Montana cannot read at a basic level. Teacher preparation is one of the most direct levers available to change that—but only if it is aligned to the research-based instructional methods that have been proven to help most students become successful readers.
Rocky Mountain College is part of a growing group of teacher preparation programs nationwide helping transform how future teachers are trained to teach reading.
RMC Education Program Mission
Rocky Mountain College’s education program seeks to develop future teachers who are not only well-educated in their disciplines, but who are also culturally responsive, caring, and knowledgeable in their interactions with students and their families. Rocky Mountain College’s education program produces educators who reflect on and continually refine their practice as they negotiate the ever-increasing challenges of the teaching profession. This is especially the case in foundational literacy instruction.
Our teacher candidates have been instilled with a deep content knowledge in each of their content areas of expertise, enabling them to plan and implement instruction, to monitor and assess student learning, and to adjust their classroom practice to increase their teaching effectiveness.
“We understand the importance of a strong foundation in literacy instruction for our future teachers and we strive to give them the knowledge and skills that will transform their future students’ educational journeys.”
Director of Education and Teacher Preparation Jodi Carlson.
“Every child deserves a teacher who has been well prepared to teach reading, and every teacher deserves the opportunity to enter the classroom ready to help students succeed. Across the country, many teacher preparation programs still do not fully align with the science of reading, but Rocky Mountain College is demonstrating what strong preparation can look like.”
NCTQ President Heather Peske.
NCTQ’s methodology is informed by a panel of reading experts, teacher preparation faculty, reading advocates, and measurement experts. 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 elementary teacher candidates at Rocky Mountain College.
To earn an “A,” programs needed to demonstrate that coursework for future elementary teachers includes all five core components of scientifically based reading instruction and avoid teaching more than three instructional methods that are unsupported by the research on effective reading instruction. To earn an A+, programs needed to exceed those targets and not teach any instructional practices that are unsupported by research.
See NCTQ’s report, Teacher Prep Review: Decoding Progress in Reading Preparation for more information about Rocky Mountain College’s coverage of the science of reading and to see how Rocky Mountain College compares to other programs in Montana or across the country.
About Rocky Mountain College
Montana’s first and finest. The product of the merger of three institutions, RMC has as its heritage both liberal arts and polytechnic roots. The distinguishing characteristic of today’s Rocky Mountain College is its commitment to putting the liberal arts in action through its combination of professions-oriented programs rooted in a liberal arts core, traditional liberal arts programs, and graduate programs designed and executed to provide education over training. The College focuses on educating the whole person, elevating graduates, and serving our communities.
Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Montana, is the oldest institution of higher education in the state of Montana, and some claim it is Montana’s oldest continuous business. Whether or not that is true does not change the fact that the College is rapidly approaching its sesquicentennial, which we will celebrate in 2028.
About NCTQ
The National Council on Teacher Quality: NCTQ is a nonpartisan research and policy organization on a mission to ensure every child has access to an effective teacher and every teacher has the opportunity to be effective. We believe a strong, diverse teacher workforce is critical for providing all students with equitable educational opportunities. Fore more information about NCTQ, visit www.nctq.org.
