Enrollment in traditional teacher preparation fell from about 880,000 in 2010-11 to about 591,000 a decade later, and roughly one in eight teaching positions is now unfilled or held by someone not fully certified. The episode covers the ed-school critique, Teach For America, alternative routes, and the scramble of residencies and apprenticeships, noting that shortages are real but specific to subject and place.
Who's who
- James D. KoernerCritic whose 1963 book indicted education coursework
- James Bryant ConantFormer Harvard president who wrote a 1963 study of teacher education
- Arthur LevineTeachers College president who called teacher education the Dodge City of education
- Wendy KoppFounder of Teach For America
- Kate WalshLongtime president of the National Council on Teacher Quality
- Richard IngersollSociologist of the teaching occupation
- Penny SchwinnTennessee commissioner who sponsored the first teacher apprenticeship
- Linda Darling-HammondStanford scholar who defends fully prepared teachers
Where it happens
- Texas+2 more episodesOnly 28 percent of first-time hires in 2021-22 held a standard certificate
- Tennessee+2 more episodesFirst state with a federally registered teacher apprenticeship
Timeline
- 1963Koerner and Conant publish critiques of teacher education
- 1990Teach For America fields its first corps of about 500
- 2005Teachers of Tomorrow founded in Houston
- 2013Teach For America peaks near 6,000 corps members
- January 2022Tennessee launches the first registered teacher apprenticeship
- 2024-2026Roughly one in eight positions unfilled or held by not-fully-certified teachers
Still debated
Whether a national teacher shortage exists is argued; evidence points to real but localized shortages, while advocates stress positions filled by uncertified teachers. Evidence on which preparation route works best is mixed, and apprenticeships have little rigorous outcome data.