Preparing and Credentialing the Nation's Teachers: The Secretary's Eighth Report on Teacher Quality Based on Data Provided for 2008, 2009 and 2010
Author: Office of Postsecondary Education (ED)
Date: 2011-11-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Preservice Teacher Education,Teacher Certification,Teacher Effectiveness,Educational Quality,Teacher Education Programs,Enrollment,College Admission,Student Teaching,College Graduates,State Standards,Program Evaluation,Licensing Examinations (Professions),Scores,Federal Legislation,Educational Legislation,Educational Policy,Professional Associations

This eighth report on the features of America's teacher preparation and initial state credentialing presents data states reported to the U.S. Department of Education (Department) in October 2008, October 2009 and October 2010. Title II of the Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965, as amended in 2008 by the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA), like its predecessor, requires states to report annually on key elements of their teacher preparation programs and requirements for initial teacher certification or licensure, kindergarten through 12th grade (see appendix 1). Because the 2008 reauthorization changed both a number of state reporting requirements and the content of this annual report, and states reasonably needed time to adjust their own data collection and reporting procedures, this three-year period was by necessity a transition period. For this reason, the Department determined that the public would be better served by providing a report on these three years at one time. The report is intended to provide Congress, aspiring teachers, the education community, researchers and policymakers, and the general public with information that Congress has identified as important to a basic understanding of teacher preparation in America. In this regard, this report provides national information and answers questions such as: (1) How many prospective teachers were enrolled in teacher preparation programs, and what was the demographic composition of these enrollees?; (2) How many prospective teachers successfully completed a teacher preparation program, and did they attend a &quot;traditional&quot; or &quot;alternative route&quot; type of program?; (3) What state standards and policies guide teacher preparation program development and evaluation?; (4) Which teacher preparation programs have states reported as low-performing or as at-risk of being identified as low-performing?; (5) What state requirements and assessment criteria underpin initial teacher certification or licensure?; (6) How many new teachers were certified or licensed by states each year from 2000-01 through 2008-09?; (7) What proportion of teachers assigned to classrooms were reported as not fully certified or licensed by their states from 2003-04 through 2007-08?; and (8) What was the percentage of teachers reported as not fully certified or licensed by states in high-poverty school districts compared to all other districts for 2007-08, the last year the data were collected? The findings from the state reports are organized into five chapters. Each chapter contains figures and tables following most of the bulleted statements to provide a graphic view of the data and display national data trends, when available. Appended are: (1) Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), Sections 205-208; (2) Title II State Report Card on the Quality of Teacher Preparation; and (3) Title II Teacher Quality Grant Partnership (TQP) Discretionary Grant Awards. (Contains 15 tables, 25 figures and 15 footnotes.) [For the seventh report, &quot;The Secretary's Seventh Annual Report on Teacher Quality: A Highly Qualified Teacher in Every Classroom,&quot; see ED520813.]