A recent report on the mathematics education of elementary teachers has raised more than eyebrows.

The nationwide study, conducted by the National Council on Teacher Quality, surveyed 77 post-secondary institutions that offer elementary education degrees. Institutions from every state except Alaska were included.

Across the country, the report raised awareness about the need for elementary teachers with better math skills. As math becomes more critical to scholastic and professional success, the report says the need for more rigorous and consistent standards on elementary math preparation also grows.

But in Minnesota, the report raised a bit of ire when two respected institutions were criticized for their lack of mathematics prep for teachers.

Minnesota State University, Moorhead was deemed a school that would have met NCTQ’s criteria if “they required more coursework” while Gustavus Adolphus College was judged even more harshly as one of 37 institutions named in the report that “fail on all measures.”

John Clementson, chairman of the education department at Gustavus, said in an e-mail that GAC’s programs have received favorable evaluations from several review agencies. He also said education students submit to a number of exams and procedures designed exclusively to gauge the readiness of elementary teachers to instruct math.

“In addition, we have multiple other measures, including an extensive portfolio that students produce, to document their understanding of (math) standards,” Clementson said.

The NCTQ study found only 10 institutions that “stood out for the quality of their mathematics preparation.” The judging criteria were based on the relevance, breadth and depth of a school’s math preparation. Judges and advisers reviewed course content, materials and syllabi.

But the methodology of the report has been roundly criticized by education officials.

According to the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education — of which Clementson is president-elect — the report did not account for the quality of the class instructor or the quality of the in-class experience.

Clementson also criticized the report for gathering information from college Web sites, which are often incomplete or out of date, and for basing conclusions on course syllabi, which are often oversimplified summaries of a course and do not convey the quality of the class or the instructor.

“These are major weaknesses of the study,” he said.

Nevertheless, Clementson admitted the study does much to bring awareness to a growing question in teacher education: How much math is enough?

The NCTQ study said not enough time is spent on algebra and geometry concepts and that students should have mastery in four areas: numbers and operations, algebra, geometry and data analysis. The NCTQ also recommended that students be required to pass entrance and exit exams before graduating and that colleges increase their focus on textbook quality.

And while Clementson and other officials have found fault with the NCTQ’s findings, they don’t dispute the premise.