The National Standards for the Preparation of Social Studies Teachers describe and explain the national standards for social studies teacher education created by the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS). These standards were approved by the NCSS Board of Directors in March, 2016. This document consists of two sections: (1) an introduction, which contains, in addition to this overview, information about the background and contexts in which the standards were developed, a description of the audiences to which the standards are addressed, and the general framework that guided the construction of the standards; and (2) the standards themselves with a supporting rationale. The standards outline the social studies content, pedagogical knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed in order to prepare ambitious social studies teachers.