THE SUPPLY, QUALIFICATIONS, AND ATTRITION

OF TEACHERS FROM TRADITIONAL AND

ALTERNATIVE ROUTES OF PREPARATION

Ed Boe and Bob SunderlandUniversity of Pennsylvania

andLynne Cook

California State University, Dominguez Hills

OSEP Project Directors ConferenceJuly 17, 2007

tqrm\OSEP Panel 7-07(1).ppt

2

PROBLEMS

• Chronic shortage of teachers in special education and other fields.

• Lack of high quality national data on the preparation of teachers by traditional and alternative routes intended to reduce the shortage.

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NCES NATIONAL DATA SOURCESSchools and Staffing Survey (SASS): 2003-04

Teacher Follow-Up Survey (TFS): 2004-05

The first sources of high-quality sample survey data on teacher supply and attrition by type of preparation (i.e., traditional vs. alternative).

Caution: Numbers reported are subject to sampling and other errors; therefore, numbers reported are an approximation.

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COMMON TERMS

• TTP: Traditional Teacher Preparation Program

• ATP: Alternative Teacher Preparation Program

• SETs: Special Education Teachers

• GETs: General Education Teachers

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FIRST RESEARCH QUESTION

• How many employed teachers are produced by TTP and ATP programs?

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61%65% 67%

70%

2%4%

14%9%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Years of Teaching Experience

Type of Preparation by Years of Experience[Public and Private Teachers Combined]

Source: 2003-04 SASS, NCES

Per

cen

tage

of

Tea

cher

s

Traditional Program

Alternative Program

1-3 4-10 11-20 21 or More

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SECOND RESEARCH QUESTION

• How many SETs completed various types of preparation?

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0% 50% 100%

Years 11 to 20

Years 4 to 10

Years 1 to 3

Percentage of Teachers by Type of Preparation

Special Education Teacher Supplyby Years of Teaching Experience

Source: 2003-04 SASS, NCES

Traditional Alternative 62 % 22 % 16 %

Other

72 % 9 % 19 %

74 % 3 % 23 %

All OtherAlternative ProgramsTraditional Degree Programs

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THIRD RESEARCH QUESTION

To what extent did TTP and ATP programs produce beginning teachers who were hired to teach in shortage areas such as: * Special education

* Mathematics education

* Science education

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Percent of Beginning Teachers Produced by Traditional Degree Programs and Alternative Programs

by Teaching Area: 2003-04 (with 1-3 Years of Experience)

Source: 2003-04 SASS, NCES

Column Percents %

Teaching Area

Demand: TotalTeaching Force

Traditional Degree Program

Alternative Program

Special Ed. 13 % 14 % 20 % a

Voc/Business Ed 5 % 4 % 9 % a

Mathematics 8 % 9 % 11 % b

Science 6 % 5 % 9 % b

Elementary Ed. 33 % 35 % 22 % c

Arts/Music 7 % 6 % 3 % c

All Other Subjects 28 % 27 % 25 %

Total 100 % 100 % 100 %

a Significantly greater than traditional degree programb Equivalent to traditional degree programc Significantly less than traditional degree program

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FOURTH RESEARCH QUESTION

• How much preparation was obtained by beginning SETs who completed TTP and ATP programs?

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36%

27%

37%

0%

50%

30%

20%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Traditional Degree Programs

Alternative Programs

1 or 2 Methods Courses 3 or 4 Methods Courses

5 or More Methods Courses

1 or 2 Methods Courses 3 or 4 Methods Courses

5 or More Methods Courses

Percentage of Beginning SETs

Supply of SETs from Traditional and AlternativePrograms by Number of Methods Courses (Years 1 – 3)

Source: 2003-04 SASS, NCES

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57%

28%

0%

53%

52%

0% 20% 40% 60%

Traditional Degree Programs

Alternative Programs

First Year Teaching

Third Year Teaching

First Year Teaching

Third Year Teaching

Supply of Public Teachers from Traditional and Alternative Programs Completing Five or More Methods Courses

by Years of Experience (1 versus 3)

Source: 2003-04 SASS, NCES

Percentage of Beginning Public Teachers

With Five or More Methods Courses

14

36%

10%

54%

0%

87%

5%

8%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Traditional Degree Programs

Alternative Programs

0 Weeks Practice 1 - 7 Weeks Practice

8 or More Weeks Practice

0 Weeks Practice 1 - 7 Weeks Practice

8 or More Weeks Practice

Supply of SETs from Traditional and AlternativePrograms by Weeks of Practice Teaching (Years 1 – 3)

Source: 2003-04 SASS, NCES

Percentage of Beginning SETs

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FIFTH RESEARCH QUESTION

To what extent did TTP and ATP Programs produce qualified SETs

who were?

* Fully certified

* Prepared in special education

16

48%

84%67%

90% 93%

81%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

1 -3 Years 4 - 6 Years 7 - 9 Years

Years of Teaching Experience

Fully Certified Special Education TeachersBy Years of Teaching Experience

Source: 2003-04 SASS, NCES

Fu

lly-C

erti

fied

Tea

cher

s Traditional Degree Programs

Alternative Programs

17

91%

6%

3%

0%

22%

20%

58%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Traditional Degree Programs

Alternative Programs

Special Ed. Teaching Major General Ed. Teaching Major

Other Major

Special Ed. Teaching Major General Ed. Teaching Major

Other Major

Supply of SETs from Traditional and AlternativePrograms by Teaching Major Field (Years 1 – 3)

Source: 2003-04 SASS, NCES

Percentage of Beginning SETs

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SIXTH RESEARCH QUESTION

Attrition of beginning teachers prepared through TTP and ATP Programs: Is there a difference?

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9%

3%

7%

12%

0%

3%

6%

9%

12%

15%

Years of Teaching Experience

An

nu

al

Att

riti

on

Per

cen

t

AlternativeProgram

TraditionalProgram

1 - 3 4 - 6

Attrition of Full-Time Public School Teachers by Type of Preparation

Source: 2003-05 SASS, TFS, NCES

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OVERALL CONCLUSIONS

• ATP Programs have become a major source of beginning SETs (22%).

• ATP Programs have responded to the shortage of SETs.

• Beginning SETs from ATP Programs are less well prepared and qualified than those from TTP Programs.

• Attrition of beginning teachers is equivalent from TTP and ATP programs.