Question:
Do you have any information on teacher quality?

Response:

Although teachers’ academic degrees and their average years of experience have been traditional indicators of the qualifications of the teacher workforce, research has not found the highest degree attained by teachers to be a good predictor of gains in student achievement (Rivkin, Hanushek, and Kain 2005; also see Hanushek 1996; Hedges, Laine, and Greenwald 1994). Number of years of teaching experience has also proven to be problematic in predicting such gains. Generally, beginning teachers (those with 3 or fewer years of teaching experience) are not as effective as teachers with more years of teaching experience, with brand-new teachers typically being the least effective teachers (Rivkin, Hanushek, and Kain 2005; Rockoff 2004; Murnane 1975). Research has consistently found that brand-new teachers make “important gains in teaching quality in the first year and smaller gains over the next few career years”; however, there is not a consistent linear relationship between years of teaching experience and student achievement after the initial three years of teaching, making it difficult to say whether there are any discernible differences among more veteran teachers—for example, between teachers with 7–10 years of experience and teachers with 20 or more years of experience (Rivkin, Hanushek, and Kain 2005, p. 449; Murnane and Phillips 1981). A better predictor of student achievement—and hence a better indicator of the qualifications of the teacher workforce—is whether teachers have training and certification in the field they teach (Monk 1994; Goldhaber and Brewer 1997, 2000). Those who have neither an undergraduate or graduate major nor certification in the field they teach are known as “out-of-field” teachers. Research has suggested that high school students in mathematics and science learn less from out-of-field teachers than they do from teachers with a major or certification in the field they teach (Goldhaber and Brewer 1997, 2000; for a summary of this research, see Seastrom et al. (2002), pp. 1–2).

In 1999–2000, among all teachers at all grade levels, an average of 12 percent were teaching out-of-field in their main assignment area; however, this percentage varied greatly by school control, subject area, and level.¹ For example, 30 percent of private school teachers taught out-of-field compared with 10 percent of public school teachers. Similarly, about 37 percent of all vocational education teachers lacked an appropriate major or certification to teach vocational education. In contrast, 6 percent of all social science teachers, 9 percent of all English teachers, 10 percent of all science teachers, and 14 percent of all mathematics teachers were teaching out-of-field. Among public school teachers who taught in the middle school grades, 8 percent of social science teachers, 11 percent of English teachers, 13 percent of science teachers, and 18 percent of mathematics teachers were teaching out-of-field. However, among public high school teachers, 2 percent of social science teachers, 2 percent of English teachers, 3 percent of science teachers, and 5 percent of mathematics teachers were teaching out-of-field (Seastrom et al. 2002, pp. 55–56).² The rates of out-of-field teaching by subject and level for private school teachers cannot be reliably calculated from Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) data because of the small sample sizes of private school teachers for each subject area.

In 1999–2000, the highest degree attained for the majority of teachers (53 percent) was a bachelor’s degree. Forty-two percent of teachers had attained a master’s degree as their highest degree, and 4 percent had attained a doctorate, professional, or education specialist degree. Less than 2 percent of all teachers had completed no more than an associate’s degree.

¹There are various ways to measure out-of-field teaching. In Seastrom et al. (2002), NCES reports four measures. The percentages of out-of-field teachers reported here—based on whether a teacher had neither a major nor certification in the main assignment field—yield the lowest estimates of these four measures because this measure ignores the cases where teachers have some classes that are outside their main assignment areas. Percentages of out-of-field teachers based on all classes taught tend to produce the highest estimates of these four measures because this measure gives equal weight to all teachers with any out-of-field classes, regardless of the number of classes. Measures based on the number of classes taught and based on the number of students taught usually fall in between these two teacher-based measures.

²The percentage of teachers who are teaching out-of-field also varied by school poverty concentrations and by minority enrollment.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2005). The Condition of Education 2005 (NCES 2005–094), Special Analysis.

Related Tables and Figures:  (Listed by Release Date)

• 2007, Digest of Education Statistics 2006, Table 65. Highest degree earned and years of full-time teaching experience for teachers in public and private elementary and secondary schools, by selected teacher characteristics: 1999–2000 and 2003–04
  
• 2007, Digest of Education Statistics 2006, Table 66. Selected characteristics of public school teachers: Selected years, spring 1961 through spring 2001
  
• 2004, The Condition of Education 2004: Out-of-field teaching by poverty concentration and minority enrollment
  
• 2003, The Condition of Education 2003: Beginning teachers
  
• 2003, The Condition of Education 2003: Out-of-field teaching in middle and high school grades
  

Other Resources:  (Listed by Release Date)

• 2006, Teacher Qualifications, Instructional Practices, and Reading and Mathematics Gains of Kindergartners
  
• 2004, Kindergarten Teachers: Public and Private School Teachers of the Kindergarten Class of 1998-99
  
• 2003, Mathematics Teachers' Familiarity with Standards and their Instructional Practices: 1995 and 1999
  
• 2002, Qualifications of the Public School Teacher Workforce: Prevalence of Out-of-Field Teaching 1987-88 to 1999-2000 (Revised)
  
• 2001, Teacher Preparation and Professional Development: 2000