Traditionally, before new teachers started teaching, they took university-based education courses on how to teach. Then they demonstrated competency in their subject matter, served as student teachers to practice what they had learned before getting a classroom of their own and obtained the state’s minimum credential to teach. Now in California, this route applies to only about half of new teachers. The remaining half start teaching before they have completed or even started their university coursework in how to teach or before they have shown they know their subjects or have been student teachers.

California has created a new preintern program and expanded the intern program to help these underprepared teachers obtain basic credentials. Like those teaching on emergency permits, neither preinterns nor interns have had the opportunity to practice teaching before starting in their own classrooms.

They typically are thrown into the fray without preparation. In addition, because they are teaching school during the day, they must attend university classes at night or on the weekend to learn how to teach.

Last year, there was a slight reduction in the number of underprepared teachers, but the number remains unacceptably high at nearly 42,000. Among this group, about 24,700 held emergency permits, about 7,000 were interns and nearly 10,000 were preinterns. Over the past few years, the composition of this group of underprepared teachers has changed significantly, with fewer teachers operating on emergency permits and more participating in intern or preintern programs.

The sweeping new federal law, No Child Left Behind, requires all new teachers to be “highly qualified.” While state and federal officials debate exactly what it means to be highly qualified, those teachers either on emergency permits or in preintern programs likely will not make the cut, which could further exacerbate California’s teacher shortage.