In early 1989 the Commission on Professional Teaching Standards was established by the Board of Directors of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. The commission was charged to produce a set of standards that promotes a vision of mathematics teaching, evaluating mathematics teaching, the professional development of mathematics teachers, and responsibilities for professional development and support, all of which would contribute to the improvement of mathematics education as envisioned in the Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics.

The standards were drafted in the summer of 1989 and revised in the summer of 1990 by the members of the commission and the three working groups, each representing a cross section of the mathematics education community, including classroom teachers, supervisors, educational researchers, mathematics teacher educators, and university mathematicians. They were appointed by Shirley Frye, then president of NCTM.

The meetings of the commission and the working groups were held at Michigan State University. All who worked on the document thank Frank Hoppensteadt, Dean of the College of Natural Science, and Judith Lanier, Dean of the College of Education, and the many faculty members who helped to make working conditions for the group ideal. In addition we owe a debt of gratitude to Nan Jackson, Janine Remillard, and Kara Suzuka for their excellent contribution to the final drafting of the document and for their fine work in organizing and coding the hundreds of written responses to the first draft of the document.

The revisions were based on the very thoughtful responses to the working draft of this document gathered from individuals and groups during the 1989-90 school year. This document is much stronger and more coherent because of the careful reviews and suggestions that were provided. We thank all who contributed comments and hope that you see the results of your reactions in this final document. The stories of teaching that are used to craft the vignettes represent many of your suggestions. We are confident that this document represents the consensus of NCTM's members about teaching mathematics, evaluating the teaching of mathematics, the professional development of teachers, and responsibilities for the support and development of teachers and teaching.

The Professional Standards for Teaching Mathematics is designed, along with the Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics, to establish a broad framework to guide reform in school mathematics in the next decade. In particular, these standards present a vision of what teaching should entail to support the changes in curriculum set out in the Curriculum and Evaluation Standards. This document spells out what teachers need to know to teach toward new goals for mathematics education and how teaching should be evaluated for the purpose of improvement. We challenge all who have responsibility for any part of the support and development of mathematics teachers and teaching to use these standards as a basis for discussion and for making needed change so that we can reach our goal of a quality mathematics education for every child.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Preparation for the NCTM standards originated more than a decade ago with the release in 1980 of An Agenda for Action: Recommendations for School Mathematics for the 1980s. Since then, the goals and activities of the Council have sustained and shaped the emphasis on curricular reform. The continued commitment to the evolving process of change in school mathematics has become an NCTM baton, passed on by each president to the next. This document, the companion to the Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics, represents the current step in the continuum: it advances and expands the vision of a high-quality mathematics education for every child.

The Council acknowledges with gratitude the outstanding leadership of Glenda Lappan, who chaired the Commission on Teaching Standards for School Mathematics and effectively directed the writing project. The writers and working groups deserve great credit for their scholarship, diligence, and dedication. We are also grateful for the active participation of NCTM's membership in the review process along with that of the other organizations and thousands of individuals both within and outside the profession who volunteered their reactions.

We appreciate the support and total involvement of the Headquarters staff throughout every stage of the project. Our executive director, James Gates, who guided that vital process, deserves full recognition and our thanks.

F. Joe Crosswhite, President 1984-1986

John A. Dossey, President 1986-1988

Shirley M. Frye, President 1988-1990

Iris M. Carl, President 1990-1992