Across the country, enrollment in teacher-preparation programs has dropped by a third from 2010 to 2018, .
The report from the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning think tank, analyzed federal data to find that nearly every state in the nation has experienced enrollment declines, with some states seeing steep declines of more than 50 percent. And the number of black and Hispanic teacher-candidates enrolled in teacher preparation dropped by a quarter over that eight-year time period.
Enrollment numbers can be a 鈥減roxy for interest in the teaching profession,鈥� said Lisette Partelow, the senior director of K-12 strategic initiatives at CAP and the author of the report. Some of these declines, she added, are 鈥渜uite worrying.鈥�
A national poll conducted earlier this year found that 55 percent of teachers wouldn鈥檛 want their children to follow in their footsteps, and half say they鈥檙e so unhappy with their jobs that they have seriously considered leaving the profession.
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The CAP report also found that there was a 28 percent decline in students completing teacher-preparation programs during this eight-year time period.
One bright spot: The number of students who completed programs that prepared them to teach bilingual education and English-as-a-second language increased by nearly 30 percent from 2012 to 2018. But most other subject areas saw declines in completers that varied in severity.
For example, special education programs saw a 14 percent decline, programs that prepared candidates to teach science, technology, engineering, and mathematics saw a 22 percent decline, and elementary education programs saw a 29 percent decline. (The latter might not be a bad thing: A 2013 analysis from Education Week found that some states were producing far more elementary teachers than there were jobs available.)
Only five states saw a growth in students enrolling in teacher preparation programs from 2010 to 2018: Utah, Arizona, Washington, Texas, and Nevada.
Nine states鈥擮klahoma, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Illinois, Idaho, Indiana, New Mexico, and Rhode Island鈥攈ave seen enrollment decline by 50 percent or more from 2010 to 2018. In the most severe example, Oklahoma鈥檚 teacher-preparation programs saw an 80 percent drop.
The Sooner State has struggled to recruit and retain teachers. Neighboring states like Texas have lured teachers over the border with significantly higher salaries. More than 2,000 emergency certified teachers were hired in Oklahoma this year鈥攎eaning they have a bachelor鈥檚 degree, but no background or course work in the content area they鈥檙e teaching.
Teachers there have complained about low wages and . Last year, teachers across the state staged a nine-day walkout and won their first pay raise in a decade.
鈥淭his broader context of the teaching profession is really affecting students鈥� interest in the teaching profession,鈥� Partelow said.
Enrollment Declines By Race, Ethnicity
Nationally, the largest declines in enrollment was among teacher-candidates who identified as Native Hawaiians or Pacific Islanders and American Indian or Alaska Native. The report notes that although these declines represent a relatively small absolute number, they are still concerning given the need for Native American and Native Hawaiian students to have culturally relevant pedagogy.
The decline in enrollment was less pronounced for black or Hispanic teacher candidates than it was for white teacher-candidates, who experienced a 45 percent decline. Even so, Partelow said the decreases for teacher-candidates of color were troubling, since there is already a shortage. Nationally, 80 percent of teachers are white, and research has found that , but , can .
Nationally, there was a 38 percent decline for female teacher-candidates, and a 44 percent decline for men. That鈥檚 concerning, the report notes, because the teaching profession is already 77 percent female.
Oklahoma had the steepest enrollment declines for both groups鈥攁 91 percent decrease for men, and a 79 percent decrease for women.
Alternative Programs
There are also differences in enrollment trends among different types of programs, the CAP analysis finds. Traditional teacher-preparation programs, which prepare the bulk of the nation鈥檚 teachers, experienced the largest decline of 43 percent. Alternative programs that are run by a postsecondary institution saw a 19 percent decline in enrollment.
Alternative certification programs that are not run by a college or university, however, saw a 42 percent increase in enrollment. Texas enrolls more candidates in these programs than any other state, driving the growth across the country. The most popular alternative certification program is called Texas Teachers of Tomorrow, which enrolls 48,218 students鈥攎ore than any teacher-preparation program of any type in the country.
The program, which has received criticism from other colleges of education and teachers鈥� unions, is for aspiring teachers who already have a bachelor鈥檚 degree. They take self-paced, online coursework that consists of videos and PowerPoint slides, and complete 480 hours of a teaching internship. 69传媒 can enter a classroom and start teaching on their own without any sort of formal observation, coursework, or supervised experience, the report says.
It鈥檚 worth noting that the increase in completers data for Texas Teachers of Tomorrow is much smaller than the enrollment increase. In 2012, just about 2,700 students completed the program, compared with 6,000 in 2018. While the number of completers more than doubled, the number of students who enrolled increased fivefold, the report notes.
Partelow said she hopes this breakdown of the data can allow policymakers to come up with targeted policy solutions in order to stem further enrollment declines.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a little bit of talk these days that we鈥檙e potentially entering an economic slowdown,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e know that enrollment in teacher preparation tends to decline when there鈥檚 a recession. ... It鈥檚 possible we鈥檙e poised for even more of a significant drop if that same trend holds true.鈥�
After all, Partelow added, 鈥渆nrollment in teacher prep is definitely not happening in a vacuum. It鈥檚 happening in the context of a lot of turmoil and dissatisfaction in the teaching profession.鈥�
Image via Getty; charts via the Center for American Progress