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ERIC Number: ED642504
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2024-Jan
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Trends in Public School Teacher Licensure in Virginia, 2011 to 2021. COVID-19 Impacts Research Brief Series No. 6
Luke C. Miller
Grantee Submission
School districts consider many qualifications when deciding whether to hire an individual to teach its students. One qualification is the type of license the applicant holds. The strictness of the eligibility requirements vary across the license types (e.g., level of educational attainment, whether a student teaching experience was completed). Teachers' license types, therefore, are a signal about the supply of teachers to school districts (called "divisions" in Virginia). License type may also be a contributor to divisions' demand for teachers should teachers with specific license types turn over more frequently. The COVID-19 pandemic and its aftereffects presented divisions with new challenges as they worked to hire teachers. In partnership with the Virginia Department of Education, we analyzed statewide administrative data on teachers between the 2011-12 and 2021-22 school years to identify trends in teacher licensure and determine whether those trends have changed since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. We did not find evidence of meaningful post-pandemic shifts in the licenses teachers hold; rather, we saw a continuation of pre-pandemic trends. Over the full period analyzed, the statewide composition of teacher licenses changed markedly. The percentage of teachers statewide with a Collegiate Professional license decreased while the percentage of teachers with Postgraduate Professional and Provisional licenses increased. The number of new licenses issued each year declined such that there were 3,085 fewer license issued in 2021 than in 2011 (a 23% reduction). The most common license among first-year teachers between Fall 2015 and Fall 2020 was the Provisional license. Most Black teachers enter the teaching profession with a Provisional license, as do most male Hispanic teachers. White teachers were the least likely to enter with a Provisional license. Annual retention rates were similar between teachers who started their careers with a Postgraduate Professional or Provisional license; however, teachers with an initial Provisional license were more likely to depart while teachers with an initial Postgraduate Professional license were more likely to shift into administrative positions. [This report was written with Veronica Katz.]
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Institute of Education Sciences (ED)
Authoring Institution: University of Virginia, EdPolicyWorks (EPW); Virginia Department of Education (VDOE)
Identifiers - Location: Virginia
IES Funded: Yes
Grant or Contract Numbers: R305S210009