Empirical research on the supply and demand of math and science teachers finds some surprising results. The employment of qualified math and science teachers has more than kept pace with the demand, and most schools find qualified teachers for those positions. However, about a third of public schools--particularly high-poverty, high-minority, and…

The failure to ensure that all of the nation's classrooms are staffed with qualified teachers is one of the most widely discussed, but least understood, problems facing elementary and secondary schools. In recent years, dozens of reports and reform initiatives have sought to solve this problem. Unfortunately, the array of recent efforts do not…

This study seeks to empirically ground the debate over mathematics and science teacher shortages and evaluate the extent to which there is, or is not, sufficient supply of teachers in these fields. The authors' analyses of nationally representative data from multiple sources show that math and science are the fields most difficult to staff, but…

Across the educational systems of the world, few issues receive more attention than the problem of ensuring that elementary- and secondary-school classrooms are staffed with adequately qualified teachers. Even in nations where students routinely score high on international exams, the issue of teacher quality is the subject of concern. It is widely…

Reviews data showing that large numbers of teachers are assigned to teach out of their subject fields. Points to the discretionary power of school administrators and the lack of/weakness of teacher employment regulations as causes. (SK)

Even a moderate number of teachers lacking college minors constitutes a problem for schools. Out-of-field teaching occurs in over half of U.S. secondary schools (rural and urban, affluent and low-income). The source of this problem lies not in teachers' educational attainment, but in lack of fit between teachers' field of training and their…

Discusses the phenomenon of out-of-field teaching assignments, suggesting that this important, but long unrecognized, problem in schools remains largely misunderstood. The paper attempts to clarify two relevant issues: whether teachers' qualifications really matter and what measures of out-of-field teaching really measure. (SM)

This issue of CPRE Policy Briefs summarizes the findings on issues related to teacher quality in the chapter by the author in the book, "The State of Education Policy Research" (Cohen, Fuhrman, Mosher, Eds., 2007). This report also draws on discussions that took place during a summer, 2006, policy briefing on teacher labor-market issues…

Out-of-field teaching is a relatively unrecognized problem in schools. This digest reviews what research shows about the extent and causes of the problem. There is much disagreement about how much and which types of education and training teachers should receive and what credentialing requirements states should have. Analysts have used various…

Studied out-of-field teaching in United States high schools using data from the Schools and Staffing Survey of the National Center for Education Statistics. Reveals that out-of-field teaching is widespread and offers an explanation that focuses on the organizational structure of schools and the occupational conditions and characteristics of…

Explores the role of the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) in providing data about teacher quality in U.S. education. SASS findings make it clear that recruiting teachers will do little to help unless ways are found to retain teachers and to understand the social and organizational context of teaching. (SLD)

Contemporary educational theory holds that one of the pivotal causes of inadequate student achievement, especially in disadvantaged schools, is the inability of schools to adequately staff classrooms with qualified teachers. Deficits in the quantity of teachers produced and in the quality of preparation prospective teachers receive have long been…

This study investigates shortages of qualified U.S. secondary teachers using data from the 1991 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), a nationally representative study conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics. The SASS includes four sets of integrated questionnaires: a school survey, central district survey, principal survey, and…

Recent research indicates that large numbers of U.S. classrooms are staffed with unqualified teachers. This is not due to teacher shortages, but rather to shortages of qualified teachers for specific positions. Hiring practices result in out-of-field teaching. The research indicates that qualified teacher shortages stem from teachers leaving or…

The failure to ensure that the nation's classrooms are all staffed with qualified teachers is one of the most important problems in contemporary American education. Over the past decade, many panels, commissions, and studies have focused attention on this problem and, in turn, numerous reforms have been initiated to upgrade the quality and…