It has been no secret in education policy over the last decade or so that more STEM and Special Education teachers are needed. Nor has it been a secret that budget crunches and political wrangling have led to highly-publicized teacher evaluations systems and even teacher layoffs. But the new numbers out from the U.S. Department of Education show a darker picture of teacher-preparation enrollment numbers than most would have anticipated.
Here are some of the key data:
- Separate state-by-state enrollment data collected under Title II of the Higher Education Act suggest that the decline in teacher-preparation enrollments has accelerated in recent years, particularly since 2010. Under that collection, California, New York, and Texas, among the largest producers of teachers, have seen steep drops.
- Some large states, like heavyweight California, appear to have been particularly hard hit. The Golden State lost some 22,000 teacher-prep enrollments, or 53 percent, between 2008-09 and 2012-13, according to a report its credentialing body issued earlier this month.
- Nationwide, enrollments in university teacher-preparation programs have fallen by about 10 percent from 2004 to 2012, according to federal estimates from the U.S. Department of Education’s postsecondary data collection.
Turbulence in the teaching field or simply an already clogged job market may be scaring candidates away. No one really knows whether this is a temporary or more long-term trend, nor do they know the definite reasons for the decline in enrollment. In the short term, the result of the decline in enrollment would seem to be schools and districts being forced to hire more provisional teachers in the coming years.
For more information, please visit: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/10/22/09enroll.h34.html
