Leader

This paper analyzes the impact of the Florida Critical Teacher Shortage Program (FCTSP), which is aimed at increasing recruitment and stemming attrition of teachers in subject areas with shortages. The FCTSP adopted a three-pronged approach to increase the supply of teachers in “hard-to-staff” subjects: loan forgiveness, tuition rates in designated subjects, and one-year bonuses. The analysis found that two of the three approaches reduced attrition rates, while the loan-forgiveness program was found to attract high-quality candidates.

This three-volume report describes the “SAM” process, which is intended help principals spend more time on improving classroom instruction and less time on administrative and managerial tasks. Research shows that instructional leadership is highly influential in improving student outcomes. The SAM approach is currently used by around 700 schools across the country.

This report examines the progress made in recent years in increasing teacher diversity in public schools. The report discusses the benefits of a diverse teaching population for all students, particularly minority students, and investigates the hiring, distribution, and turnover of minority teachers in nine major U.S. cities.

This working paper presents findings from an investigation on the impact of demographic matches or mismatches  on teacher expectations for students in high schools. Findings indicate that non-black teachers of black students have lower expectations for their students than their black counterparts, particularly for male students and in math, providing additional support for the hiring of a more diverse and representative teaching force.

In California, seven out of 10 of the state’s fastest growing occupations are in STEM fields. Low-income, minority students have less access to STEM learning opportunities and experience less success in STEM subjects compared to their more advantaged peers. This report examines how the shortage of STEM teachers in California is impacting low-income students’ access to a high-quality STEM education.

This report investigates the competencies teachers need to succeed in a learner-centered or personalized learning school community. Within four groups of competencies—cognitive, intrapersonal, interpersonal, and instructional—the report discusses specific ways that teachers can improve their skills  to effectively meet the requirements of a competency-based learning environment.

This report examines states’ preservice teacher preparation programs and their efforts to prepare teachers for literacy instruction. The document provides a summary of state requirements for program content and program assessments, and state licensure requirements by school level.

In this report, TNTP looks at challenges in the area of teacher improvement, and finds that large investments have been made by school districts and systems across the country in recent years in programs aimed at helping teachers develop and improve. TNTP focused on a sample of three large school districts and set out to identify supports that successfully boost teacher growth. The report finds little evidence that year-on-year improvements are taking place; moreover, researchers were unable to identify particular practices helping teachers who do demonstrate improvement.

This report examines 22 teacher education programs that have significantly shifted focus to place high-quality clinical teacher preparation at the center of their programs. It details how those shifts occurred and conditions that facilitated movement from traditional teacher training models to more clinical approaches.

The first in a series of four papers from iNACOL—the International Association for K–12 Online Learning—on online learning, this report looks at how blended learning is being used in education today to improve educational outcomes and personalize the learning experience for students.