United States

Teachers, Teacher Education, and Professional Development

Teacher Education Specific to Mathematics and Science

The traditional educational pathway for a public school teacher includes a degree from a four year college or university and completion of a teacher education program, including a practicum of supervised teaching experience. In current teacher education programs, early childhood educators (prekindergarten through Grade 3) and elementary school teachers (Grades 1 to 5) usually earn a bachelor’s degree in education, while secondary school teachers may earn a bachelor’s degree in their specific subject area, a double major in their subject and education, or a master’s degree in education in addition to the bachelor’s degree in their subject area.²⁸

All public school teachers must be licensed. Each state’s department of education is responsible for granting public school teacher licenses.^h

In recent years, there has been a proliferation of alternate routes to certification and licensure, primarily in response to a need to find teachers in hard-to-staff schools or in subject areas such as mathematics, science, and special education. These programs allow applicants to begin teaching while completing a one- or two-year teacher education program. Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree and demonstrate subject knowledge in order to participate in such programs. Requirements for licensure for public school teachers of mathematics and science are the same as those that currently apply to all public school teachers in the United States and are mandated by all state education agencies. Some states require teachers to obtain a master’s degree as part of license maintenance.²⁹

Under the NCLB Act of 2002, all teachers must be highly qualified, as defined by law. This means that all teachers must obtain a teaching license from their state, have at least a bachelor’s degree, and demonstrate expertise in their field. To demonstrate subject knowledge, new elementary school teachers must pass tests of both teaching skills and the academic areas of basic elementary school curricula, including language arts, reading, and mathematics. New middle and high school teachers must demonstrate expertise in the subjects they teach either by passing a specified academic subject test or by successfully completing an undergraduate major (or coursework equivalent to an undergraduate major), a graduate degree, or an advanced certification or credentialing.³⁰

In the 2010–2011 school year, 96 percent of the nation’s more than 3 million elementary and secondary public school teachers had at least a bachelor’s degree, and 56 percent also had a master’s degree or other degree or certificate beyond a bachelor’s degree.³¹

Requirements for Ongoing Professional Development

Most states require continuing professional development and education for the renewal of teacher licenses. Often, school districts provide opportunities for teachers to continue their education through professional development activities organized by the school district.

There are no national policies that prescribe the content and methods of professional development programs. Some approaches to professional development implemented by states are: short term workshops; summer institutes for teachers to receive specialized training and equipment; master teacher programs that provide specialized training and financial incentives to participating teachers; professional development opportunities for teachers, specifically in high needs districts; special training and support for teachers of advanced secondary school courses. In 2010–2011, 91 percent of elementary school teachers and 78 percent of secondary school teachers participated in professional development activities specific to the subject or subjects that they taught, according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Schools and Staffing Survey.³²