= Page opens in new window or tab, California Department of Education, Special Education Division. Are you a career changer? Growth in teacher demand as the economy has improved has collided with steep declines in the supply of new teachers, leading to significant increases in the hiring of underprepared teachers, especially in districts serving high-need students. Overall, the average pupil-teacher ratio has fallen from 23:1 to 21:1, which is nearly pre-recession levels but still one of the highest in the country. The brief looks at strategies for addressing shortages and concludes with policy considerations. To help provide answers, the Learning Policy Institute conducted an analysis of the California teacher workforce to determine the dimensions of, causes of, and potential solutions to the shortage. The need for teachers is quite real. Steele, J. L., Murnane, R. J., & Willett, J. Goodpaster, K. P. S., Adedokun, O. The teacher shortage is “worse than we thought,” researchers conclude in a new analysis of federal data. The report was prepared in part for inclusion in the California Getting Down to Facts II Project and benefited from the ideas and feedback of its research team. (2017, December). (see Figure 3). Candidates must meet California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) requirements to pass tests of basic skills and subject matter knowledge, in most cases prior to admissions, plus tests of reading and teaching performance prior to licensure. After years of budget cuts and layoffs, the 2014–15 school year brought an upturn in the economy, along with a voter-approved funding initiative (Proposition 30), and historic school finance reform (the Local Control Funding Formula). Some leave for other states, and others pursue other activities. In 2016–17, California issued more than 12,000 intern credentials, permits, and waivers, more than double the number issued in 2012–13 and roughly half of all authorizations issued this past academic year. How changes in entry requirements alter the teacher workforce and affect student achievement. Darling-Hammond, L., Furger, R., Shields, P. M., & Sutcher, L. (2016). Teacher Shortages in California: Status, Sources, and Potential Solutions by Linda Darling-Hammond, Leib Sutcher, and Desiree Carver-Thomas is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Teach California California faces a shortage of special education, mathematics, and science teachers. Increases or decreases will vary in different parts of the state, but for most districts, enrollment growth will not be a major driver of demand. Podolsky, A., Kini, T., Bishop, J., & Darling-Hammond, L. (2016). The U.S. Department of Education defines a teacher shortage area as an “inadequate supply of elementary or secondary school teachers” in a “specific grade, subject matter or discipline classification, or a geographic area.” Obtaining a teaching credential in one of these fields would help reduce the shortage, may increase your chances of employment, Either way, the general picture shows that teachers severely lack throughout the nation. The shortages have become especially acute since the 2014-15 school year in areas such as math, science and special education. One study found 80 percent of California school districts reported a shortage of qualified teachers for the 2017-18 school year. Addressing California’s growing teacher shortage: 2017 update. This event featuring California State Senator Carol Liu and Linda Darling Hammond focused on teacher shortages in California in specific fields and regions. California teacher attrition is, by far, the largest contributor to the statewide educator shortage, accounting for 88% of demand for new teachers. A., & Weaver, G. C. (2012). Arizona's teacher shortage is worse this year than last – and COVID-19 may be largely to blame. This shortage impacts all grade levels and subject areas as well as special education. The grant period has been extended to help teachers earn their bilingual authorizations. Core operating support for LPI is provided by the Sandler Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and the Ford Foundation. While the problem of teacher shortages affects many school districts in the nation, rural areas face a unique set of problems, causing the teacher shortage crisis to be more pronounced in these areas, as noted by an article in The Washington Post.Furthermore, many solutions for urban settings do not successfully transfer to rural settings. Over the last 4 years, California has worked to curb teacher shortages by investing nearly $200 million in programs to recruit and retain teachers by helping classified staff become certified, starting new undergraduate programs for teacher education, and supporting training for bilingual teachers. Darling-Hammond, L., Sutcher, L., & Carver-Thomas, D. (2018). Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 21(2), 127–142; Kim, J. As a result, since 2014–15, California districts have reported acute teacher shortages, especially in mathematics, science, and special education.Darling-Hammond, L., Furger, R., Shields, P. M., & Sutcher, L. (2016). 3. The U.S. teacher shortage is visible in data from state and school district officials and state-by-state subject area vacancies. The only caveat is that not all U.S. states contribute to this data, so it’s hard to say exactly how significant the national teacher shortage is. Decide if teaching is for you. Teach Math! (2017). California teacher shortages: A persistent problem. B. "When you really don't have any other applicants, how are you going to fill those spots?" Education Finance and Policy, 1(2), 176–216; Darling-Hammond, L., Holtzman, D. J., Gatlin, S. J., & Vasquez Heilig, J. Does Teacher Preparation Matter? Less than half of their counterparts in schools with fewer lower-income students did so. But the teacher shortage has hit California hardest in the special education realm. Previous research suggests consideration of the following evidence-based approaches: A common objection to teacher shortage interventions is the belief that the teacher labor market will adjust on its own to meet demand. California districts have hired long-term substitutes or teachers with substandard credentials, left positions vacant, increased class sizes, or canceled courses—all of which can undermine instructional quality and student achievement.On the impact of substitute teachers: Damle, Ranjana. Governors and legislators in many of these states are now working to turn the tide. Teachers in Title I schools and in schools serving high proportions of students from low-income families and students of color all have higher rates of teacher churn. Evidence about Teacher Certification, Teach for America, and Teacher Effectiveness. Sutcher, L., Carver-Thomas, D., & Darling-Hammond, L. (2018). California's Emerging Teacher Shortage: New Evidence and Policy Responses. 2 . Guha, R., Hyler, M.E., & Darling-Hammond, L. (2016). Shortages are most severe in special education, where 2 out of 3 new teachers now enter on substandard credentials, and in mathematics and science, where about half of new teachers are entering without preparation. This brief examines how districts experienced teacher supply in the fall of 2017. Unpublished manuscript; On the impact of class size and larger classes due to course cancelation: Glass, G. V., & Smith, M. (1979). Looking for a teaching job? Shortages are also emerging in bilingual education since voters passed Proposition 58 in the fall of 2017, which reinstated such programs. Shortage areas include: Special Education; Mathematics; Science; Bilingual; Career technical education; Other Subject Areas. Teacher shortages have been worsening in California since 2015. The study, published by the union-backed … 82% of them reported hiring under-prepared teachers. Failure rates on the overall set of tests eliminate at least 40% of individuals who start the process of becoming a teacher, and more than 50% in mathematics and science, where pass rates are particularly low, even for candidates who have majored in these fields of study.