The share of uncertified teachers in the Texas teacher workforce more than tripled between 2019–20 and 2024–25, reaching 12%¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associationalr2·q2
Currency · newest study 2026 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · recheck by 2031: baselines and conditions change
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r
the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.
This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q2 i? Uncertified teachers grew from 3.8% to 12% of the Texas workforce between 2019–20 and 2024–25, with 42,103 uncertified teachers statewide in 2024–25. → Patrick 2026
Evidence¶
Patrick 2026¶
Patrick, S. K., Higginbotham, C., Saunders, R., Tan, T. S., & Wojcikiewicz, S. (2026). Teacher certification in Texas: District strategies to recruit and retain a credentialed workforce. Learning Policy Institute. https://doi.org/10.54300/301.563
q2 · i? · associational · r2
Descriptive analysis of statewide Texas Education Agency administrative data reported in the executive summary and introduction. The report states the share of uncertified teachers "more than tripled between 2019–20 and 2024–25, increasing from 3.8% to 12%" and counts 42,103 uncertified teachers in 2024–25.
"Overall, the share of uncertified teachers in the Texas teacher workforce more than tripled between 2019–20 and 2024–25, increasing from 3.8% to 12%."
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- Newly hired Texas teachers with standard or intern certificates declined sharply over the past decade while uncertified new hires became the largest category — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
- More than 8,500 uncertified FTE teachers were in K–5 English language arts and math positions in 2024–25, and roughly 23,000 uncertified FTE were in foundational subjects that must be certified by 2027–28 — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
- Districts serving higher shares of Black, Hispanic/Latino, and economically disadvantaged students had significantly lower teacher certification rates — related
- The share of uncertified teachers among new Texas entrants rose from 16% in 2018–19 to 49% in 2023–24 — related
- In Texas in 2023–24, 68% of newly hired teachers were underqualified or unqualified, teaching on intern certificates, emergency permits, or no certification — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
texas-uncertified-teacher-share-tripled |
title |
The share of uncertified teachers in the Texas teacher workforce more than tripled between 2019–20 and 2024–25, reaching 12% |
description |
The share of uncertified teachers in the Texas teacher workforce more than tripled between 2019–20 and 2024–25, reaching 12% |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
moderate |
newest_evidence |
2026 |
recheck_by |
2031 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-10 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — patrick-2026 |
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