A couple of California think tanks have taken a look at how well that state is preparing its math and science teachers. The study applies an industrial model (often used to analyze complex business processes) to find bottlenecks in the current system of teacher preparation. A weighty exercise in attention span, the report takes an in depth look at the recruitment, retention, induction, and professional development of math and science teachers in California. With demand outpacing supply (a projected shortage of more than 33,000 teachers in the next decade), policymakers are struggling to find a way to increase the number of qualified teachers in California’s classrooms.
According to the authors, traditional routes into the profession supply only about half of all science and math teachers entering the profession and alternate routes must increasingly step up to the plate. Interestingly, nearly half of all teachers in California who entered the profession through an alternate route say they would not have otherwise become a teacher if that route had not been available. The quality of these programs varies greatly, as it does in traditional teacher preparation programs, and the report’s authors express concern that these teachers are under prepared to teach in the high-needs communities where they are often placed–the very communities that most need high-quality teachers.
Despite the report’s concession of the obvious, that alternative certification programs may come to dominate future preparation of teachers, it devotes most of its recommendations to bolstering traditional routes and professional development.