Learning Forward

Legal name: National Commission on Teaching and America's Future

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
043641630
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2017
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2017
Location
Oxford, OH, US
Phone
800-727-7288 or 513-523-6029
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Alliance/Advocacy Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$5,499
Expenses
$647,057
Assets
$0
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2017. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

21 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MELINDA GEORGE (PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • RICHARD RILEY (CO-CHAIR)
  • TED SANDERS (CO-CHAIR)
  • MICHELE CAHILL (DIRECTOR)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2017. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Learning Forward shows you how to plan, implement, and measure high-quality professional learning so you and your team can achieve success with your system, your school, and your students.

What it reported doing in 2017

Research and analysis - nctaf conducts research on policies and practices regarding teaching quality and teacher development. Nctaf's research has informed the growth of professional teaching standards, the strengthening of the teaching career from induction to mastery, and the national discussions about methods to encourage and develop teacher knowledge and skills. Nctaf is also committed to rigorous evaluation and collects qualitative and quantitative data about our impact on teacher practice, school change, and student achievement. Nctaf disseminates its research and findings in order to strengthen teaching and learning.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 100% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 100% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 88
  • Transparency & Controls: 93
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 8
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 98.5%; rating input score 98
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -11,666.8%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -22.6% per year; rating input score 0; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -22.2% per year; rating input score 0; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -13% per year; rating input score 0; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: Mission, programs, and operating context captured from the official website.
  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 98.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 19 of 19 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $637K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 21 people listed
  • Consistency: 20 of 20 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes grants
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2010 to 2017
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 1/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 2/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.