Report: ISU is Largest Preparer of Teachers Among American Public Universities

NORMAL - It’s already Back to School time, as youngsters prepare to head back to the classrooms. When they get there, it’s a good chance that they may have a teacher from Illinois State.

Overall, one of six teachers in the state of Illinois hold a degree from ISU. At least one ISU graduate is employed in 87 percent of the public school districts in Illinois.

Founded as the state’s first public institution of higher learning in 1857, ISU was a “normal school,” a term for teacher training. That was the mission of the university for its first 108 years of existence until October 1965, when the Illinois Board of Higher Education authorized academic programs that did not require teacher certification. The new academic programs became effective in September 1966.

The excellence of Illinois State in producing top teaching professionals was evident early on. At the university’s 25th anniversary celebration in 1882, 968 former ISU students were teaching in 88 of the 102 counties of Illinois. Another 104 held teaching positions in seventeen other states and territories.

By the time ISU turned fifty in 1907, some ninety-one graduates were either presidents or professors in other normal universities.

That same year, ISU graduates had written or published 112 volumes, mainly texts, some of which had become standards in the field. Those numbers would grow exponentially in the century that followed.

Today, Illinois State remains a national leader in the field of education. According to the 2024 Title II report, ISU is the largest preparer of teachers among public universities in the United States.

More ISU alums have earned National Board certification than graduates of any other Midwestern university. Program alums have been honored as teacher of the year in six states and superintendent of the year in two different states.

One top source, College Factual, has rated ISU as the top school for special education in both the state and the nation.

Some 62,000 alumni of the education department at Illinois State now live and work in all 50 states, as well as 69 countries worldwide.

Tom Emery may be reached at 217-710-8392 or ilcivilwar@yahoo.com.

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