Systemic challenges for the Texas teacher workforce result from a large yearly demand for new teachers, exacerbated by high and climbing teacher attrition rates. As a result of these challenges, a large majority of new teachers are now hired before they complete preparation. Assigned disproportionately to students from low-income families and…

In the face of yet another crisis in teaching, it's time for a bold and comprehensive plan to revitalize and better support the profession. Education expert Linda Darling-Hammond explains how the current shortage of teachers is not entirely new, but the result of decades of cutting programs, lack of respect for the profession and poor working…

Teacher residency programs (modeled after the clinical residency model in medical training) show great promise in helping local school systems build a highly capable and diverse teaching workforce. Jointly run by districts and nearby universities, these programs recruit teaching candidates, pair them with carefully selected mentor teachers, and…

California schools have had persistent difficulties filling special education vacancies, but in the past two years, these shortages have skyrocketed, as evidenced by the growth of substandard special education authorizations. When schools struggle to fill a position with a qualified teacher, they often hire teachers who are still in training or…

With the U.S. facing a national teacher shortage that is projected to grow substantially in the coming years, school systems across the country are grappling with the challenge of building and maintaining a high-quality teacher workforce for all students. While school leaders and policymakers might be tempted to solve shortages by focusing solely…

Without changes in current policies, U.S. teacher shortages are projected to grow in the coming years. Teacher turnover is an important source of these shortages. About 8% of teachers leave the profession each year, two-thirds of them for reasons other than retirement. Another 8% shift to different schools each year. In addition to aggravating…

This brief summarizes successful strategies for creating a strong and stable teaching force. These strategies are drawn from "positive outlier" districts in California that have excelled at helping African American, Latino/a, and White students achieve at high levels on assessments of academic standards in English language arts and…

As a major policy focus, teacher evaluation is currently the primary tool promoted to improve teaching quality. But evaluation alone is not enough. What will most transform teaching quality--and the profession--is the creation of a larger system that supports teaching and learning through on-the-job evaluation and professional development, and…

California is experiencing one of its most severe teacher shortages in two decades. Budget cuts and layoffs resulting from the recession contributed to a steep decline in the number of teachers in California, falling from a high of 310,362 teachers in the 2007-08 school year to 283,836 four years later. Recent efforts, including Proposition 30 and…

As teaching has become a major focus, teacher evaluation is currently the primary tool being promoted to improve it. Thus, most states are dramatically overhauling their evaluation systems for teachers and administrators. What we really need is the conception of teacher evaluation as part of a teaching and learning system that supports continuous…

Virtually everyone agrees that teacher evaluation in the United States needs an overhaul. Existing systems rarely help teachers improve or clearly distinguish those who are succeeding from those who are struggling. The tools that are used do not always represent the important features of good teaching. Criteria and methods for evaluating teachers…

Parents, practitioners, and policymakers agree that the key to improving public education in America is placing highly skilled and effective teachers in all classrooms. Yet the nation still lacks a practical set of standards and assessments that can guarantee that teachers, particularly new teachers, are well prepared and ready to teach. This…

Current teacher certification tests are simplistic, multiple-choice, and context free. They quiz knowledge of terms and laws rather than proving comprehensive understanding of educational theory and practice. Such tests are effective neither in selecting good teachers nor in establishing a broad and realistic professional knowledge base. (LHW)

In her article, Megan Hopkins offered that teaching residency can allow Teacher for America (TFA) to capitalize on its existing strengths and contribute more effectively to a better future for both low-income students and the schools that serve them. In this article, the author agrees with Hopkins' vision and asserts that the teaching residency…

In this article we address the "highly qualified teacher" provisions of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001. We argue that the provisions' intent is important and achievable, and we outline critical research on the issue of which teacher qualifications matter for student learning. Three questions frame the discussion: Does…