Are Teachers Highly Qualified? A National Study of Secondary Public School Teachers Using SASS 1999–2000

Abstract

In this study we inquired into the qualifications of public secondary school teachers by examining whether or not teachers met the No Child Left Behind Act's ([NCLB] 2002) definition of “highly qualified” immediately prior to the law's enactment. We examined this by core academic subjects (English, social studies, math, and science) and, particularly, in the subfields of science (chemistry, earth science, life science, physical science, and physics). We also inquired into the distribution of teachers who were identified as highly qualified in their main teaching assignments by school locations (urban, suburban, and rural) and by schools with different levels of minority student enrollment. In this study, a highly qualified teacher has at least a bachelor's degree, full state certification, and a major in the subject taught. We analyzed data extracted from the 1999–2000 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS). Results revealed that the percentages of highly qualified teachers in the core subjects, especially in the subfields of the sciences, were far from satisfactory. Overall the percentage of highly qualified teachers in their main assignments was 72.8. However, the percentage of qualified teachers in the subfield of earth science was only 15.7, when determined by every subject a teacher teaches. Urban schools were less likely to have highly qualified teachers than suburban or rural schools. We also found that the greater percentage of minority students a school served, the lower the percentage of highly qualified teachers employed in that school. There was a 10 percent gap in highly qualified teachers between schools with low numbers of minority students and high numbers. The findings suggest that the situation poses a serious challenge for implementing the NCLB's mandate of highly qualified teachers in secondary schools. Furthermore, the findings raise an equity issue in staffing across schools.