Shortage districts fill vacancies with substandard-credential teachers (55%), substitutes (24%), and out-of-field assignments (22%), with high-poverty districts using substandard credentials most¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2016 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · overdue for a recheck since 2021: baselines and conditions change

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Among districts with trouble filling vacancies, 55% hired teachers with substandard credentials, 24% hired substitutes, and 22% assigned teachers outside their credential field; high-poverty districts used substandard credentials at 71% vs. 30% in low-poverty districts. → Anne Podolsky and Leib Sutcher 2016

Evidence¶

Anne Podolsky and Leib Sutcher 2016¶

Anne Podolsky and Leib Sutcher. (2016). California Teacher Shortages: A Persistent Problem. Learning Policy Institute. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED606761

q2 · i? · associational · r2

Survey results on staffing solutions (Figure 5): substandard credentials 55%, substitutes 24%, out-of-field 22%, vacancies 17%, larger classes 9%, canceled courses 8%. The quoted sentence gives the high- vs. low-poverty contrast.

"High-poverty districts report filling their vacancies with teachers who have substandard credentials more than twice as often as low-poverty districts (71% vs. 30%)"

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• 77% of school principals and district leaders reported challenges hiring enough substitute teachers during the pandemic, more than for any other staffing position — related
• Michigan's teacher vacancy data are severely underreported, with nearly 90% of districts reporting zero vacancies in 2021-22 — related
• Districts report severe substitute teacher shortages during the pandemic, straining remaining teachers who must cover absent colleagues' classes — related
• U.S. teacher shortages are nationwide and worsening, with over 300,000 positions unfilled or filled by uncertified teachers in 2023 — a broader claim this one bears on
• Every surveyed district filled some vacancies with underprepared teachers, and substandard credentials nearly tripled from 2012–13 to 2019–20 — related
• Most surveyed California districts faced increased teacher vacancies over pre-COVID-19 years and greater difficulty filling them — related
• Teachers on substandard credentials are unequally distributed, concentrated in districts serving more low-income students — related
• California substandard credentials and permits tripled between 2013 and 2023 and made up more than half of new teaching authorizations issued in 2023 — related
• Out-of-field teaching is more common in high-poverty schools and lower tracks, concentrating the least qualified teachers with disadvantaged students — a broader claim this one bears on
• Schools reporting hiring difficulties are almost twice as likely to have above-average teacher turnover rates — related