ABSTRACT
Teacher education provided in US colleges and universities has been routinely criticized since its inception in the early nineteenth century, sometimes deservedly. These programs are uneven in quality and can be improved. Over the last 25 years, a variety of people and organizations have been increasingly critical of teacher education programs in colleges and universities, which some in the media have branded "an industry of mediocrity". Historically the US has had many different pathways to teaching, including school district sponsored programs, academies, seminaries, teacher institutes, normal schools, teachers' colleges, community colleges, and 4-year colleges and universities. The founding of Teach for America (TFA) in 1990 marked the beginning of a shift in the nature of the alternatives provided for students and schools in high-poverty areas. There is in fact very little peer-reviewed research that has been conducted on the impact of specific independent teacher education programs.
