What is NCTAF?

Members of the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future spent two years of intense study on and discussion of the progress, problems, and challenges facing the United States in general, and American education in particular. The Commission was funded by the Rockefeller Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation of New York, chaired by Governor James B. Hunt, Jr. of North Carolina, and directed by Linda Darling-Hammond of Teachers College, Columbia University.

In 1996, the Commission issued its report, "What Matters Most: Teaching for America's Future." It concludes that the link between teaching and a positive outlook for America's future depends on what teachers know and how they apply that knowledge int he classroom. Reforms such as student and teacher performance standards cannot succeed if teachers are not supported with necessary resources -- training, materials, and environments that encourage good teaching.

Hawaii created a policy group of some of the State's top people in the education community to critique Hawaii's educational system and make recommendations for improvement.