The Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning
The Status
of the
Teaching
Profession
2005
California State University, Office of the
Chancellor
Policy Analysis for California Education
University of California, Office of the President
WestEd
Research conducted by SRI International
The Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning
High Stakes
No Child Left Behind requires that:
• Every teacher must be “highly qualified” by the
end of the 2005-06 school year.
• Steps are being taken to ensure that experienced
and qualified teachers are equitably distributed
among classrooms with poor and minority children
and those with their peers.
Stakes for Students are Rising:
• Seniors graduating in the Class of 2006 must pass
the California High School Exit Exam.
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The Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning
High Stakes: Then and Now
School-specific Sanctions/Rewards
• API monetary awards; teacher awards
Student-specific Sanctions/Rewards
• Students face ever higher standards of academic
achievement
 California High School Exit Exam
 Increased coursework requirements for high school
graduation
 Higher requirements for college admittance
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The Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning
High Stakes: Math and Science
• The average math scores for fourth and eighth
grade students in California ranked only above
Mississippi and Louisiana (RAND, 2005).
• Only 28 percent of California fifth-graders
scored at or above the proficient level on the
state’s science exam (CDE, 2005).
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The Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning
Higher Stakes for Minority Students
Science—Fifth grade
• Only 14% of African American and 13% of
Latino students perform at or above proficient.
Algebra I—Eighth grade
• Only 14% of African American and 18% of
Latino students perform at or above proficient.
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The Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning
The Mismatch:
Teachers and High Stakes
• Schools with the lowest
percentage of students
passing the CAHSEE have
the most underprepared
teachers.
• Nearly 100,000 students
have yet to pass the exam
and risk failing to graduate
this year.
• About 75,000 of these
students have yet to pass
the math portion of the exam
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The Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning
Students in the
state’s lowest
performing schools
are five times
more likely to have
an underprepared
teacher than
students in the
highest performing
schools.
Average percent of faculty without
credential
Distribution of Underprepared Teachers
by School-level API
25%
21%
20%
18%
15%
14%
13%
11%
10%
8%
10%
5%
5%
7%
5%
3%
4%
8%
6%
4%
2%
0%
2001-02
2002-03
Highest achievement quartile
2nd achievement quartile
2003-04
2004-05
3rd achievement quartile
Lowest© achievement
quartile
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2005. All rights reserved.
The Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning
Underprepared Math and Science
Teachers by School-level API, 2004-05
Percent of science teachers that are not fully credentialed
25%
20%
14%
15%
10%
8%
6%
5%
4%
0%
Highest achievement
quartile
3rd achievement
quartile
2nd achievement
quartile
Source: API 2004 (2004 API Base Data File), PAIF 2004.
Note: Includes only full-time teachers who teach at least one math or science class.
Lowest achievement
quartile
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The Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning
Average percent of faculty without credential
Distribution of Underprepared Teachers by
School-level Percentage of Minority Students
25
23
20
20
15
15
13
10
5
4
5
3 3
10
8
8 7
5
11
6
4
0
0-30% minority
2001-02
31-60% minority 61-90% minority
2002-03
2003-04
91-100%
minority
2004-05
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The Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning
Underprepared Math and Science Teachers, by
School-level Percentage of Minority Students
Percent of underprepared math and science teachers
25%
20%
16%
15%
10%
10%
6%
5%
4%
0%
0-30% minority
31-60% minority
61-90% minority
Source: CBEDS (Aggregate Data Files) 2004, PAIF 2004.
Note: Includes only full-time teachers who teach at least one math or science class.
91-100% minority
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The Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning
Persistent Inequities
• Intern teachers are
maldistributed– 85% of
interns are assigned to high
minority schools.
• Only 3% of interns are
assigned to low minority
schools.
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The Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning
Inequity and its Long-term Impact
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The Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning
A Deeper Look: Algebra I
• 35% of middle school teachers assigned to teach
Algebra I do not have a mathematics credential.
• Approximately 69,000 middle school students are
enrolled in Algebra I classes where the teacher is
underprepared or teaching out-of-field.
• Algebra I is required for high school graduation and
serves as a gatekeeper to advanced math courses
necessary for admittance to institutions of higher
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education.
The Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning
Out-of-Field Teachers
• Out-of-field teaching continues
to be a problem across subject
areas in California high schools.
• At least 20% of mathematics
and life science teachers are
assigned out-of-field or are
underprepared.
• Nearly one-third of physical
science teachers are either
underprepared or assigned outof-field.
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The Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning
Need for Increased Retention Efforts
Secondary teachers leave the profession at
faster rate than elementary teachers:
• 27% leave by their fourth year of teaching
It may be assumed that this problem is amplified
for math and science teachers as their earning
potential is greater outside of teaching.
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The Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning
Advanced Placement Courses
President Bush’s American Competitiveness
Initiative calls for 70,000 additional math and
science AP teachers nationwide
Currently, California has 1,287 teachers who teach
at least one AP math course and 1,429 teachers
who teach at least one AP science course
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The Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning
The Looming Teacher Shortage
• Nearly 100,000
teachers in
California are over
50 years old.
• One-third of the
teacher workforce
will retire in the
next decade.
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The Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning
Teacher Preparation Enrollment v. Production
80000
70000
60000
50000
Total Enrollment
Total Credentials Issued
CSU
Independents
UC
40000
30000
20000
10000
0
1999-2000
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
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The Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning
Now is the Time to Take Action
• The chance of
supply meeting
demand is greatest
in the 2005-06
school year.
• Unless action is
taken immediately,
the gap between
supply and demand
will widen over the
next 10 years.
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