Urban school districts often rely on alternative teacher certification programs to help address ongoing demands for recruiting and hiring qualified teachers. These programs offer pathways into teaching outside of traditional university-based teacher education programs. TNTP's Teaching Fellows program has been one of the most prominent alternative…

Compared the academic achievements of students taught by undercertified primary school teachers, including teachers from the "Teach for America" program, to those of students taught by regularly certified teachers. Findings for 5 school districts, roughly 300 new teachers, show that students of under-certified teachers make about 20%…