 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
In 2001–02, there was a slight improvement in the number of underprepared teachers in the California classrooms although the level remains at 14 percent of the teacher workforce. The total number of underprepared teaches in the workforce decreased slightly as did the number of first-year teachers who are underprepared. In 2001–02, 49 percent of first-year teachers were underprepared, down slightly from 51 percent the previous year. Still, nearly one of every two first-year teachers had not completed a preparation program and obtained a full credential before beginning to teach. Although these modest one-year improvements are encouraging, the gap between the supply of and demand for credentialed teachers is expected to increase consistently over the next decade. Our long-term teacher workforce projections suggest that the gap between the need for trained teachers and the available supply will grow significantly – up to approximately 20 percent of the teaching force over the rest of the decade. While our projections are estimates based on trends and hampered by the lack of a teacher data system, they have held up well since our first report in 1999. It remains to be seen whether these underprepared teachers will be mostly teachers on emergency permits – as is the case now – or in organized efforts designed to accelerate their full certification, such as intern programs. In any case, future efforts to increase the number of fully trained teachers clearly will need to expand dramatically to overcome the teacher shortage, an unlikely prospect in budget-cutting years. It should be noted that our projections of teacher supply include “out-of-state” teachers who were credentialed in another state but have relocated to California. Our projections do not take into account “out-of-field” teachers — those who are teaching in a subject area for which they are not credentialed. More information is available on: |