In New Jersey, prospective K-6 educators take only 39% of the recommended coursework in math content to earn teaching degrees, the fourth lowest teacher preparation expectation bar in all states and the District of Columbia.

That’s according to a report issued today from the National Council on Teacher Quality, “Solving for Math Success.” While there has been much attention paid to deficits in teaching reading, math instruction has been the forgotten stepchild, languishing in the cellar. Meanwhile only 45 percent of NJ fourth-grade students can do math at grade level; by sixth grade only 36 percent are proficient. As NCTQ President Heather Peske explains, “teachers need to know how to do more than just follow the steps in math to get the right answer. They need to know why those steps work. It’s like the difference between a basketball player and a coach. The player can learn their role and follow directions, but the coach needs to understand the bigger picture—the why behind every move.”

But our teachers aren’t prepared during their college years to know why those steps in math work, to glean the bigger picture. NCTQ reports just 16% of 838 undergraduate programs across the country earned an A or A+ for meeting the minimum recommendations (22% earn an F) and only 5% of graduate programs meet or approach the recommended 150 instructional hours for math overall. In NJ, out of 15 undergraduate programs, 7 get an F and, out of 11 graduate programs, 10 get an F. Students and families are left holding the bag. (Complete list below.)

The consequences for low math skills persist throughout adulthood. NCTQ notes that higher math scores “translate to higher earnings as adults” and “predict future earnings better than reading scores.” In order to improve students’ chances for future success, then, New Jersey must confront the fact that our teacher preparation schools are inadequately preparing future math educators and that our requirements for math certification are too low. And that fix has to come from the top.

What specifically is New Jersey doing wrong? Let’s pick a role model from states that are doing it right. Recent national test scores (from NAEP) show that Louisiana fourth graders are among the top five in the nation for math growth, one of only two states where 2019 NAEP fourth grade math scores (reading too!) were higher than in 2019, and one of only 14 states to show gains in eighth grade math. This is in spite of the fact that the percentage of Louisiana students from low-income households is three times higher than New Jersey (37% vs. 13%).

In New Jersey we come close to NCTQ instructional targets on pedagogy, requiring 41 hours out of the recommended 45 (“widely agreed upon by practitioners in the field”), the 6th worst among states. But it is the content area that kills us: NJ teacher preparation colleges only require 51 hours of coursework compared to the instructional target of 105 hours, the fourth lowest in the country.

Let’s dig a bit. According to NCTQ’s state-by-state profile, which grades colleges on whether they require adequate coursework in math content and pedagogy, aspiring teachers need a minimum of 105 hours in content and 45 hours in pedagogy, for a total of 150 hours or 10 three-credit courses. While there is often much emphasis placed on pedagogy (the methods and practice of instruction), across the country there is far less emphasis on ensuring that teachers possess a conceptual understanding of foundational mathematics, especially in numbers & operations and algebraic thinking.

Some states have adequate preparation requirements. Undergraduate programs in 13 states, says NCTQ, “average at least seven credits (105 instructional hours) of coursework focused on mathematics content knowledge.” But, “in contrast, programs in Florida, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, and Vermont average half that amount of time.” New Jersey is praised for changing policies so that, starting in September 2025, teacher colleges will control requirements for 30 more credits than they used to and six to nine of those credits have to be in specialized math courses. But, the analysts note, “these policy changes alone will not ensure that programs implement coursework adhering to research-supported approaches.”

How underprepared are aspiring NJ teachers to effectively teach math to elementary school children? Let’s go back to our role model, Louisiana. There the average teacher college requires 91 hours in pedagogy, top among states and surpassing the instructional target of 45 hours. In content, where NJ is a slacker, Louisiana requires 112 hours of coursework, also more than the instructional target of 105 hours and twice as many hours than NJ.

The report contains two other sections: recommendations for teacher preparation programs and policy makers, and ratings of individual colleges. For instance, programs should “dedicate at least 150 instructional hours—10 credits—to elementary mathematics and ensure required coursework provides the necessary instructional time to address the content knowledge and pedagogy teachers need.” And, for policy makers, “use sound policy to support teacher prep programs and hold them accountable for producing teacher candidates who are prepared to teach math.”

Regarding the grading of NJ teacher prep programs, only one undergraduate college got an A, the College of New Jersey, which means it addresses “at least 90% of the recommended target for each of the five topic areas.” Six got B’s. This report doesn’t evaluate alternative certification program, although there are plans to do so. The analysts note, “NCTQ does not support any teacher preparation model in which candidates immediately serve as teachers of record while still completing foundational coursework.”

• Caldwell University Undergraduate F
• Caldwell University Graduate F
• Centenary University Undergraduate CBD
• College of New Jersey Undergraduate A
• College of New Jersey Graduate F
• Fairleigh Dickinson University Undergraduate CBD
• Fairleigh Dickinson University Graduate CBD
• Felician University Undergraduate D
• Felician University Graduate F
• Georgian Court University Undergraduate F
• Georgian Court University Graduate B
• Kean University Undergraduate F
• Monmouth University Undergraduate B
• Monmouth University Graduate F
• Montclair State University Undergraduate C
• Montclair State University Graduate F
• New Jersey City University Undergraduate F
• New Jersey City University Graduate F
• Ramapo College of New Jersey Undergraduate B
• Rider University Undergraduate B
• Rider University Graduate F
• Rowan University Undergraduate C
• Rutgers University – Camden Graduate F
• Rutgers University – New Brunswick Graduate F
• Saint Elizabeth University Undergraduate F
• Saint Peter’s University Undergraduate B
• Saint Peter’s University Graduate F
• Seton Hall University Undergraduate B
• Stockton University Undergraduate F
• William Paterson University of New Jersey Undergraduate F
• William Paterson University of New Jersey Graduate B

Note: In cases where a syllabus is not available and the course description does not provide enough detail to be coded, the course is designated as “couldn’t be determined” (CBD). When that designation is applied to any course within a program, the program’s grade is listed as “CBD.”