Chronicle of Higher Eduation - web daily - August 22, 2002
Many Schoolteachers Lack Subject Mastery, Report Contends By ELIZABETH F. FARRELL
A staggering number of public-school teachers at the middle- and high-school levels have little if any college training in the subjects they teach, especially those in low-income and high-minority school districts, according to a report released Wednesday by the Education Trust, a nonprofit group that works on behalf of needy students.
The report, titled "All Talk, No Action," cites data from the U.S. Department of Education's 1999-2000 Schools and Staffing Survey and concludes that the number of "out-of-field teachers" -- those who lack degrees in the subjects they teach -- is quite high, and has increased by 2.5 percentage points since the Education Department's 1993-94 survey.
Nationwide, an average of 24 percent of classes in secondary schools are assigned to teachers who lack either a major or minor in the subject they teach, and the rate jumps to 34 percent for classes in high-poverty schools. Middle schools are especially hard hit, with 44 percent of classes being taught by teachers who fail to meet those criteria.
"One major reason [the numbers] didn't improve is that nobody's made a serious systemwide effort to solve the problem," said Craig D. Jerald, the author of the report. "Education leaders and administrators prefer to keep sweeping it under the rug and using loopholes."
In the report, Mr. Jerald also asserts that the dearth of teachers with appropriate mastery of a given subject can be partially attributed to a lack of efficient allocation of teachers within any given school district.
"Much of the problem of out-of-field teaching is not about supply," writes Mr. Jerald. "Rather, too many school leaders assign teachers without thinking about the ramifications for them or their students."
Other education experts concede that subject-specific knowledge is an important measure, but they disagree with Mr. Jerald's assertion that reallocation could substantially solve the problem.
David G. Imig, president and chief executive officer of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, says subject-specific allocation of teachers is logistically difficult and at odds with other measures currently being advocated to improve the quality of secondary education, such as smaller schools and class sizes.
"There is a movement to reduce the size of schools, so the complexity of staffing schools with teachers who majored in the subjects they teach is just an enormous undertaking," said Mr. Imig. "It should be done, but you can't do it with the current structure. ... There need to be reforms that cost a lot of money and a reconsideration of what it means to be a teacher."
In response, Mr. Jerald acknowledged the trade-offs between the separate goals of smaller classes and teacher specialization but added that he was optimistic that government mandates set forth in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 would motivate schools to reform many of the "antiquated recruitment and hiring practices" that currently contribute to the problem.
"It must be addressed in the near future because the act requires states and districts to reduce the amount of teachers who aren't qualified to teach specific subjects," said Mr. Jerald. "Right now, everybody just ignores the problem, but the federal requirement will force people to be more proactive and creative in solving it."