Teaching and Professional Learning

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As a foundation for all this, undergraduate institutions will need to upgrade the math and science education every aspiring teacher receives, including those who do not intend to teach secondary math and science. Indeed, math and science learning is a crucial priority for all undergraduates: they are tomorrow’s teachers, parents, and leaders, and math and science will be increasingly important in all those roles. Further, to realize the full value of changes such as these, human capital management systems must be strengthened in our schools, districts, and states. As one recent analysis showed, “job dissatisfaction” is cited most often by teachers as their main reason for leaving their jobs—leading co-investigator Richard M. Ingersoll to liken efforts to increase the supply of math and science teachers to “pouring water in a leaky bucket” until teachers’ working conditions are improved⁵⁶. A more dynamic, innovative, and professional teaching force will require better leadership and management of schools and systems, deeper engagement in instructional improvement and accountability, more meaningful assessment of teaching effectiveness, and expanded roles for exemplary teachers. Educators, individually and as a profession, will need to be afforded greater recognition and respect.

The best alternative certification programs hold considerable promise for the nation, especially in math and science.

1. On increasing the supply of well-prepared teachers of mathematics and science at all grade levels by improving teacher preparation and recruitment

Teacher certification is the mechanism states use to ensure that their schools are staffed by qualified professionals. Most teacher candidates obtain their initial certification by completing a college- or university-based program that combines academic coursework and supervised clinical experiences, or student teaching. Some candidates, especially those who intend to teach elementary grades, satisfy initial certification requirements during their undergraduate years and go directly from college into teaching. Others, especially those who aim for the more specialized certifications needed for secondary school teaching, enroll in post-baccalaureate, or “5th year,” programs; there, aspiring teachers who already have a bachelor’s degree in a particular discipline gain academic and practical experience in education—and the credential they need to take up a teaching position.

These two routes produce a steady supply of teachers; they do not, however, produce enough math and science teachers to meet today’s needs. The problem is especially acute in some regions of the country and difficult-to-staff schools and districts⁵⁷.

And it’s no wonder. Conventional undergraduate and post-baccalaureate programs have limited appeal to math and science majors and graduates, who typically have a multitude of career choices open to them—many in fields more lucrative than education. Moreover, universities are not accountable for meeting the need for math and science teachers and have historically given little attention to teacher recruitment, generally preferring to serve any qualified student who chooses to enter a program rather than recruit students whose interests and academic backgrounds match school district needs. School districts with particular recruitment challenges—for secondary math and science teachers, for example, or for teachers willing to work in difficult-to-staff urban schools—have developed their own tactics to fill those gaps, such as recruiting certified teachers from other locales (sometimes even from abroad) or establishing temporary certification programs.

In recent years, organizations such as The New Teacher Project (TNTP) and Teach for America have attempted to fill the recruitment gap by offering alternative routes into teaching for candidates who lack traditional teacher preparation, often appealing directly to candidates’ desire to do something worthwhile for children and society. Working in partnership with school systems in cities such as New York City, Chicago, and Baltimore, these independent, nonprofit programs have expanded the pipeline of teachers who are willing, even eager, to work in difficult-to-staff urban schools, often in shortage areas such as math and science⁵⁸. The programs recruit nationally and are highly selective. In general, teachers recruited via these alternative routes have higher observable academic qualifications than the supply of teacher candidates that districts attract, and their deployment in high-poverty schools appears to have contributed to higher student achievement, especially in math and science⁵⁹.

The best alternative certification programs hold considerable promise for the nation, especially in math and science.

Yet even alternative-route programs are sometimes forced to make special efforts to attract math and science majors. Math for America, a growing nonprofit that places its fellows in schools in New York City, San Diego, Washington, DC, and Los Angeles, requires “strong quantitative preparation” but not necessarily an undergraduate major in mathematics. The New York City Teaching Fellows Program —a district-sponsored initiative, described below—has taken the step of adding enhanced math and science immersion strands to its general program, each aimed at attracting and preparing candidates who did not major in science or math during college but have some math and science background and are interested in teaching in those fields.

The alternative certification field has grown dramatically in recent years, and evidence suggests that, similar to variations across other teacher entry routes, there is variation in the quality of programs. Yet the best alternative certification programs hold considerable promise for the nation, especially in mathematics and science, as well as lessons about what it takes to bring well-educated, talented, but uncertified candidates into teaching and to support them through the transitional “induction” period. Some districts are now applying those lessons in programs of their own design, often relying on philanthropic support to shape and pilot their initiatives and tailoring the components to suit local circumstances⁶⁰ Boston Teacher Residency, for example, trains approximately 75 fellows per year in an intensive program managed jointly by the school district and an intermediary organization, the Boston Plan for Excellence. The program offers teacher candidates a 13-month, clinically based alternative pathway to teacher certification; components include a full-year internship in a Boston school, during which the fellow works closely with a mentor teacher; summer sessions before and after the residency year; a stipend for living expenses; and a forgivable loan toward a master’s degree. By contrast, the New York City Teaching Fellows Program is larger, enrolling roughly 1,600 candidates per year. It aims to attract both career changers and new college graduates with strong academic background by placing fellows in full-time, fully paid teaching positions in their first year and providing them with an intensive pre-service summer institute, mentoring by an experienced teacher, and enrollment in a subsidized master’s degree program in education through a local university.