Description
Authorized by SB 1422 (Bergeson) in 1992, the Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment (BTSA) program primarily supports first- and second-year teachers with preliminary credentials. AB 1266 (Mazzoni, 1997) legislated the programmatic elements of BTSA, which is administered by a task force with members from the California Department of Education (CDE) and the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CCTC). The program provides new teachers with a support provider (or mentor) who helps them through the California Formative Assessment and Support System for Teachers (CFASST) or another locally developed assessment process. CFASST, a two-year assessment process, is aligned with the California Standards for the Teaching Profession (CSTP) and aims to support beginning teachers toward a better understanding of how to be effective along the dimensions outlined in the CSTP.

As of May 2002, both the CCTC and the superintendent for public instruction had approved the Standards of Quality and Effectiveness for Professional Teacher Induction Programs. Pending approval by the State Board of Education, the approved standards will help to set in motion the SB 2042 requirement that teachers participate in a two-year induction program to obtain a professional (Level II) credential.

Funding
Locally run BTSA programs are funded based on the number of BTSA participants they support. Funding rose dramatically after AB 1266 (Mazzoni) passed in 1997 and established the program’s current structure. In 1997–98, funding more than doubled. Following the passage of SB 2042 (1998), which required induction for beginning teachers, funding nearly quadrupled in 1998–99 to bring the program “to scale” with the intention of providing sufficient resources for all new teachers with preliminary credentials to receive support.

In 2001–02, the state funded local BTSA programs at $3,375 per participant with the requirement that districts provide matching funds of $2,000 per participant. For 2002–03, the state budget allocates more than $88 million for BTSA with per-participant funding at $3,443 per year; the budget includes provisions for CDE to shift funds as necessary to meet the funding requirements for a greater number of participants.

BTSA Funding and Participant History

Participation
BTSA is intended to serve first- and second-year teachers who hold preliminary credentials. The 2002–03 budget bill (AB 425, 2002) specifies that second-year teachers be added only when all first-year teachers are served. In some cases, BTSA supports emergency permit teachers or teachers credentialed in other states who have minimal requirements to complete before obtaining a preliminary credential. As funding increased and legislation changed the nature of the program, participation of beginning teachers has increased twentyfold since BTSA’s inaugural year. In recent years, numbers of participants have leveled off.

In 2001–02, 887 districts participated in BTSA programs with about 60 institute of higher education partners. The CCTC estimates that more than 22,000 teachers participated in BTSA in 2001–02, and preliminary data suggest that more than 24,000 teachers will be in 150 BTSA programs in 2002–03.

Evaluations
External evaluators have conducted annual evaluations of the BTSA program since its inception, including collection of participant- and program-level data. The most recent evaluation examined participant retention rates, program effectiveness and issues of expansion in December 2001. At the local level, individual programs collect data on participants and retention, undergo in-depth evaluations, and conduct peer reviews of other programs.

Additional Resources

• References for Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment program