The United States has been cultivating STEM talent for decades with great success, but that robust talent pipeline is threatened by a growing STEM teacher shortage. Left unaddressed, that shortage could curtail employment in STEM professions and the many related careers that increasingly require some degree of scientific and technological…

Teacher shortages continue to be a challenge for state policymakers, and while national media coverage paints a picture of widespread shortages, a closer examination reveals that shortages tend to be concentrated in specific subjects and schools. The primary policy response to shortages is often to recruit more teachers, but research demonstrates…

Hiring and retaining teachers of color is one approach that policymakers can use to support improved academic achievement and opportunities for racially and ethnically diverse students. National data show that while the student population is becoming more diverse, the teacher workforce remains largely white and female. While teachers from all…

In a country with an increasing population of nonwhite students, there are far too few teachers of color. The numbers are particularly distressing when it comes to finding male teachers of color, who are essential role models for black boys. As a result, black and Latino children sitting in classrooms with white teachers, day after day and year…

The Every Students Succeeds Act (ESSA) provided states with newfound flexibility on accountability measures and school improvement strategies. Many policy experts have analyzed states' ESSA plans, which explain how states use their federal funds under various provisions of the new law, as well as the approaches states take to identify and rate…

More than 60 years after the ruling in "Brown v. Board of Education" was handed down, its promise remains unfulfilled. In many respects, America's public schools continue to be "separate and unequal." Indeed, the growing re-segregation of American schools by race and ethnicity, compounded by economic class segregation, has…

A wave of teacher retirements is expected just as fewer college-bound students express a preference for teaching careers, and more diverse students reach school age. Former U.S. Education Secretary Richard Riley suggested the nation would need more than 2 million new teachers over the next decade. This article presents some perspectives on…

Based on information from interviews with 50 first- and second-year teachers in Massachusetts, proposes a mixed model for the teaching career: one that would be responsive to the needs of both teachers who envision long-term careers and those who envision short-term stays in teaching. Draws implications for teacher recruitment and retention…

This report presents case studies of part-time teachers and how they work in Miami, Florida; Detroit, Michigan; Framingham, Massachusetts; Cedar Falls, Iowa; and Niskayuna, New York. The opening section reviews the highlights of a 1965 survey of part-time teachers in 700 school systems (ED 003 396) and summarizes important findings uncovered in…

The first section of this report presents (1) an overview of a "comprehensive investigation of ways to improve the certification and preparation of educational personnel in Massachusetts"; (2) a one-chapter discussion with recommendations on each of four focal issues: personnel for education services, personnel certification, reform of…