Q. What is the difference between the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) and the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE)?

A. AACTE is a national, voluntary membership association of colleges and universities with undergraduate and/or graduate programs to prepare professional educators. NCATE is a voluntary accrediting association for schools, colleges, and departments of education that prepare teachers and other school specialists.

AACTE is a constituent member of NCATE, and the two organizations work closely together toward the goal of improving the quality of teacher education. In fact, AACTE offers assistance to AACTE member institutions that wish to explore NCATE accreditation. Institutions that are members of AACTE, as well as of NCATE, receive a reduction in their annual NCATE fees.

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