Background: Over the past decade, most of the quantitative studies on teacher preparation have focused on comparisons between alternative and traditional routes. There has been relatively little quantitative research on specific features of teacher education that might cause certain pathways into teaching to be more effective than others. The vast…

This study profiles the qualifications and preparation of special educators from the 2003--2004 Schools and Staffing Survey and investigates their relationship with teaching in a high-poverty school. Based on Berne and Stiefel's (1984) equal opportunity standard, students with disabilities in high-poverty schools are not provided an equitable…

This study addresses the question: Do the kinds and amounts of pre-service education and preparation that beginning teachers receive before they start teaching have any impact on whether they leave teaching? We examine a wide range of measures of teachers' subject-matter education and pedagogical preparation. We also compare different fields of…

This study describes the characteristics and experiences of beginning public school teachers in the Northeast and Islands Region states and compares them with the characteristics and experiences of beginning teachers nationally using data from the 2007/08 Schools and Staffing Survey. This study uses data from the 2007/08 Schools and Staffing…

This summary describes a study that examines characteristics and experiences of beginning public school teachers in the Northeast and Islands Region states and compares them with the characteristics and experiences of beginning teachers nationally using data from the 2007/08 Schools and Staffing Survey. This study uses data from the 2007/08…

This report summarizes responses from the 2003/04 Schools and Staffing Survey by public school teachers in the Northwest Region who began teaching in during 1999-2003. The report focuses on questions for teachers about coursework in preparation for teaching; preparation for essential classroom roles; and their perceived level of support during the…

This report summarizes responses from the 2003/04 Schools and Staffing Survey by public school teachers in the Northwest Region who began teaching during 1999-2003. The report focuses on questions for teachers about coursework in preparation for teaching; preparation for essential classroom roles; and their perceived level of support during the…

This paper uses data from the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) to examine two main facets of teacher qualifications: teacher certification and degree level. After noting the importance of teacher qualifications to student achievement and to public confidence in the educational system, Section 1 looks at sources of partly certified teachers. One…

This study examined teacher qualifications and out-of-field teaching using National Center for Education Statistics' Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) data from 1988-00. It emphasized teachers without a major, minor, or certification in the subject taught and teachers without a major and certification in the subject taught. Overall, in middle…

This report presents national data on teachers and teaching from the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) and other sources. Where data permit, the report compares findings from the early to mid-1990s with findings from the 1980s. The report addresses a wide range of topics related to teachers and teaching, including teachers' demographic…

This research analyzed the yield of degree graduates from teacher preparation programs for the national teaching force in public schools. Estimates were obtained for the percentage of such graduates who: (1) entered public school teaching soon after graduation; (2) delayed entering public school teaching for one or more years after graduation; and…

Few educational issues have received more attention in recent times than the problem of ensuring that the U.S.'s elementary and secondary classrooms are all staffed with quality teachers. Although ensuring that the nation's classrooms are all staffed with quality teachers is a perennially important issue in schools, it is also among the most…