What can California, Texas, and Washington, D.C. teach us about how to diversify the teacher workforce?
Nationally, the diversification of the teacher workforce is slowing compared to the diversification of college-educated adults, but California, Texas, and Washington, D.C. are bucking that trend. Explore what factors contribute to their relatively high rates of teacher diversity and how their policies and practices will likely affect teacher quality.
Our classrooms haven’t kept pace with the changing world. The Ford Model T represented breakthrough technology in its day—more than 100 years ago—but it wouldn’t serve us well today. Likewise, our traditional classroom model from the same era doesn’t work well for far too many students and teachers. In fact, as a result of this outdated model, it is more difficult for schools to find and keep great teachers, which ultimately hurts student learning.
This interactive resource answers questions and provides guidance about reimagining teaching based on your leadership role. It contains a scan of state policies that impact whether districts can make strategic staffing a reality, case studies from innovative states and districts that are leading the way, and advice for leaders on how to get started.
Districts are facing hard choices: How can teacher evaluation help?
Teacher evaluation systems—if implemented well—can help districts make better workforce decisions. We examine whether large districts’ policies align with the research on what will likely make for effective and impactful evaluation systems.
Given how disruptive it is for schools to deal with even a single absent teacher, you’d think we would know such things as how many teachers are quitting.
Dig into the Research: Teacher licensure, student achievement, and the edTPA
NCTQ President Kate Walsh hosts a panel discussion on how the edTPA affects the teaching profession with leading researchers in the field of educator preparation.
COVID-related incentives for teachers during the 2021-22 school year
Teachers faced many difficulties last year due to the pandemic. Concerns about teachers not returning for the 2021-22 school year weren’t unfounded. We looked at the incentives that 148 large school districts in the U.S. used to attract and retain teachers during the Fall of 2021.
States need reliable data to effectively address teacher shortages and staffing challenges. This report reveals that many state systems for reporting teacher supply and demand remain fragmented and incomplete. Critical gaps in tracking teacher vacancies, attrition, and new entrants make it difficult for policymakers to accurately forecast shortages or tailor recruitment strategies. The report underscores the urgent need for comprehensive, interconnected, and timely data systems that link teacher preparation, certification, and employment. By improving data reporting, states can develop targeted policies to attract, assign, and retain high-quality educators, ultimately enhancing student learning outcomes.
Digging Deeper: Which subjects pose the greatest challenges to aspiring elementary teachers?
Aspiring elementary teachers often struggle with mastering the full range of subjects they are expected to teach. This report reveals that certain disciplines—particularly science and social studies—pose significant challenges, likely due to gaps in aspiring teachers’ content knowledge. While aspiring teachers should have learned much of this content prior to entering a teacher prep program, it ultimately falls to their program to identify the gaps in their knowledge and to support them to learn the content to succeed on licensure tests and in the classroom.
Working conditions play a crucial role in teachers’ wellbeing, especially after 18 taxing months of reinventing education due to the pandemic. A recent report uncovers that class sizes are a major contributing factor. In this month’s District Trendline, we examine the contractual obligations of 148 school districts for class sizes.
