IUCATION

Policy Paper No. PP88-2-l

Math, Science, and Foreign
Language Instruction in California:
Recent Changes and Prospective Trends

Helen H. Cagampang
James W. Guthrie

 

February 1988

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Directors '- mm f: , _
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James w. Guthrie ‘ ’
University of California f‘;j.-"é§;,;
Berkeley

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Michael W. Kirst ”1"“ * zi’A
Stanford University

 

Policy Paper No. PP88-2-l

Math, Science, and Foreign
Language Instruction in California:
Recent Changes and Prospective Trends

Helen H. Cagampang
James W. Guthrie

February 1988

Helen H. Cagampang is an associate policy analyst with PACE.

James W. Guthrie is a professor of education at the University of California, Berkeley and
co—director of PACE.

This paper was sponsored and published by Policy Analysis for California Education,
PACE. PACE is funded by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and directed jointly
by James W. Guthrie and Michael W. Kirst. The analyses and conclusions in this paper
are those of the authors and are not necessarily endorsed by the Hewlett Foundation.

This analysis was funded in part by a grant from the State Department of
Education. A smaller, technical version of this analysis was delivered to the
Department in 1987. Continuing interest prompted publication in this
expanded format.

The authors wish to acknowledge the advice and assistance of Jacob
Adams, Stephen M. Barro, John Bianchini, Bobbie Fite, John Evans,
Gerald C. Hayward, Sanford L. Huddy, Linda C. Humphrey, Harvey
Nelson, Alan Seder, Vernon Spohn, Robert F. Tardif, and members of the
advisory committee, Dr. Pamela Arbuckle, Robert O. Bess, Judith
Bodenhausen, Austin C. Frank, Tim Kelly, Michael W. Kirst, Nancy
Kreinberg, Henry M. Levin, and Ronald T. Vera. The authors also wish to
extend a special thanks to the teachers and principals who responded to our
surveys.

Additional copies of this paper, PP88~2=1, are available by sending $6.00 per copy to:

PACE
School of Education
University of California
Berkeley, California 94720

CHECKS PAYABLE TO THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
(California residents add appropriate sales tax.)

Policy Paper No. PP88-=2~1
Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE)
Berkeley, California
January 1988

ii

Executive Summary

California's increased high school graduation and college entrance requirements
have changed course—taking patterns among California high school students. Enrollment
has increased in all levels of math, science, and foreign language instruction. More
students are enrolled in advanced placement classes. In addition, California's new state
frameworks for math, science, and foreign language contain state-of-the-art instructional
guidance for district curriculum leaders and teachers. These accomplishments reflect the
goals of recent school reforms and address the belief that in order to be competitive in
tomorrow's economy, students need to develop competences in math, science, and foreign
language.

In contrast, policy makers and analysts have questioned whether there is a sufficient
supply of fully qualified and appropriately credentialed math, science, and foreign language
teachers; whether secondary students take enough advanced math, science, and foreign
language courses to prepare for college work in these fields; and whether all students are
equally likely to enroll in advanced classes.

Policy makers currently have little information on these topics, such as the
qualifications of current teachers, number teaching "out of field," and impact of state
licensing requirements on teacher supply. Nor is there adequate information on
enrollments in advanced math, science, and foreign language classes or on accessibility of
these classes to members of traditionally underserved minorities.

To address this gap, we examined information from four public data bases and
three independent surveys conducted specifically for this report. The resulting analyses
regarding student enrollment in math, science, and foreign language classes, teacher supply
and demand, and state policies affecting math, science, and foreign language instruction are
offered as 1985-86 benchmarks against which to measure California's future performance.
Highlights include the following:

o Public high school enrollment in math, science, and foreign language has
increased sharply in recent years. Corrected for student population changes,
enrollment in secondary math, science, and foreign languages increased by 1
percent, 27 percent, and 21 percent, respectively, between 1981-82 and 1985=
86. During this same period, high school graduation and college entrance
requirements increased.

° Although equity gains have been made over earlier years, female, black, and
Hispanic students continue to be underrepresented in advanced math and
physical science courses, while male students are underrepresented in foreign
language and life science courses.

More attractive wages and working conditions in private industry for
individuals trained in math and science have resulted in a serious shortage of
teachers in these areas.

In order simply to place teachers in math and science classrooms, schools have
used more than 5,600 teachers with temporary and emergency credentials in the
last five years. Districts reported that 1,500 teachers of math, science, and
foreign languages had emergency credentials or requirement waivers in 1985-86.

Nearly one-third of high school math students and one-fifth of science students
are taught by teachers who are not fully credentialed.

Given projected enrollment increases and teacher attrition, California will
require approximately 7,000 new math, science, and foreign language teachers
by 1991-92, even if there is no decrease in average class size. An additional
1,700 teachers would be needed to staff every classroom with a teacher fully
qualified in these subjects.

The number of individuals entering teacher training institutions has increased as
much as 300 percent in some subject areas, as has the number of individuals
two or more years out of college who are considering applying to a teacher
training program.

When all factors affecting supply and demand are balanced, projections indicate
a continuing teacher shortage in these subjects in the densely populated areas of
Southern California As a result, it is likely that a substantial portion of math
and science classes will continue to be taught by teachers who are not fully
qualified.

iv

Contents

Executive Summary .......................................................................... iii

List of Tables ................................................................................. vii

Policy Analysis for California Education .................................................. xi

Math, Science, and Foreign Language Instruction in California:

Recent Changes and Prospective Trends .......................................... 1
Organization of this Report ............................................................... 1
Summary of Methodologies, Procedures, and Sources of Data ..................... 2

Section One: Student Participation and Performance ......................... 5
Enrollment in Math, Science, and Foreign Language Classes ....................... 5

Distribution of Math Enrollment .................................................... 7
Distribution of Science Enrollment ................................................. 7
Distribution of Foreign Language Enrollment ..................................... 7
Distribution by Ethnicity and Gender ................................................... 9
Persistence ........................................................................... 13
Instructional Time in Grades 2, 4, 6, and 8 ..................................... 14

Section Two: Supply and Demand for Qualified Teachers ............... 17

Factors Influencing Teacher Supply and Demand ................................... l7
Salaries and Working Conditions ................................................. 19
Demand Projections ..................................................................... 21
Projected Enrollment in Math, Science, and Foreign Language Classes ..... 22
Summary of Demand Due to Enrollment Change and Attrition ............... 23
Demand for Qualified Teachers ................................................... 24
Districts" Projected Hires .......................................................... 28
Distribution of Anticipated Hires .................................................. 30
Demand for Private School Teachers ............................................. 30

TeacherSupply..................... .............. . ........ . .................. . .......... 31

Labor Market Influences on Teacher Supply ................................. . . . 31
Enrollment in Teacher Training Programs ..... .......................... . . . ... .. 32
Credentials Issued . ..... . . . . . . . .. .................................................. . 33
Teachers Trained in Other States .................................................. 35
Teachers Returning from Personal Leave ...... . ..................... . ........... 35
California Basic Education Skills Test Examinees .............................. 36
Indicators of Shortage .......................................... a ................... 38
Summary of Supply and Shortages ............................................... 39

Section Three: Programs, Guidelines, and Teacher Qualificationsm41

Programs to Increase Enrollment and College-00in g

and Completion Rates .................................................................. 41
Performance Reports and State Frameworks ........................................ 43
Mathematics Framework ........................................................... 44
Science Framework ................................................................. 47
Foreign Language Framework .................................................... 47
Teacher Qualifications .................................................................. 48
Teachers Trained in California .................................................... 50
Requirements for Teachers Trained Outside California ........................ 51
Requirements if a Shortage Exists ................................................ 51
Impact of Credential Requirements on Teacher Supply ........................ 52
Section Four: Summary and Policy Implications ............................ 55
Student Performance .................................................................... 55
Teacher Supply and Demand ........................................................... 56
Policy Implications ...................................................................... 57
Teacher Quality and Student Participation ....................................... 57

Supply of Teachers ................................................................. 58
Program Quality ..................................................................... 59
Appendix Tables ......................................................................... 61
Bibliography ............................................................................... 67

vi

TABLE 1:

TABLE 2:

TABLE 3:

TABLE 4A:

TABLE 4B:

TABLE 5:

TABLE 6:.

TABLE 7:

TABLE 8:

TABLE 9:

TABLE 10:

TABLE 11:

TABLE 12:

List of Tables

Graduation Requirements Established by SB 813 and Recommended
By the State Board of Education, Admission Requirements for CSU
and UC ............................................................................. 6

Enrollment in Math, Science, and Foreign Languages, Grades 9 t012,
1981-82 and 1985-86 ............................................................. 8

Number of Graduates and Graduates Meeting a-f Requirements by
Ethnicity, 1984-85 ................................................................ 9

Ethnic Group as Percent of Total Enrollment and as Percent of
Enrollment in Algebra, Advanced Math, Chemistry, and Physics,
1985-86 ........................................................................... 1 1

Total Enrollment in Grades 9 to 12 and Enrollment in Algebra,
Advanced Math, Chemistry, and Physics By Ethnic Group, 1985-86 11

Female Enrollment in Four Subjects By Ethnic Group, 1985—86 .......... 12

Enrollment in Elementary and Advanced Math, Science, and Foreign
Language Classes By Gender, Grades 9 to 12, 1985-86 ................... 13

Instructional Time in Grades 2, 4, 6, and 8 in California School
Districts, Mean (and Standard Deviation) Minutes per Week, Total and

Selected Subjects ................................................................. 15
Number of Schools Reporting Instructional Time in Grades 2, 4, 6,

and 8, By Grade Level and Subject, 1985-86 ................................ 15
Highest Educational Level Attained By Teachers of Math, Science, and
Foreign Language, 1985-86 .................................................... 18
Reasons for Leaving Teaching ................................................. 20

Summary of Cumulative Demand, F'I'Es Needed Due to Enrollment
Change and Attrition, 1985-86 to 1991-92 ................................... 24

Credentialed Math, Science and Foreign Language Teachers Instructing
in Other Fields .................................................................... 26

vii

TABLE 13:

TABLE 14:

TABLE 15:

TABLE 16:

TABLE 17:

TABLE 18:

TABLE 19:

TABLE 20:

TABLE 21:

TABLE 22:

TABLE 23:

TABLE 24:

TABLE 25:

TABLE 26:

Total Number of Math, Science, and Foreign Language Classes and
Percent Taught By Teachers with Neither a General Secondary Nor an
Appropriate Single-Subject Credential, 1985-86 ............................. 27

Additional Secondary FI'Es Needed to Replace Teachers Instructing
Out of Field ....................................................................... 28

Comparison of Projected Demand for Math, Science, and Foreign
Language Teachers for 1986-87 and District Reported Anticipated
Hires for 1986—87 ................................................................ 28

Number of Teachers in First Year of District Service (DY) and in First
Teaching Year (TY), Secondary Only ......................................... 29

Number of Individuals First Enrolled in Single-Subject Credential
Programs, 1981-82 to 1984—85 ................................................ 33

First-Ever Credentials (Clear, One-Year Preliminary, Five-Year
Preliminary), 1981=82 to 1985-86 ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, 34

Number of Single~Subject Credentials Issued to Teachers Trained in
California and Teachers Trained in Other States, 1981~82 to 1983-84 ,. o, 35

Degree Status of CBEST Examinees Considering Applying for
Admission to Teacher Training Programs, 1983-1985 ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, 37

Emergency Teaching Credential Candidates By Current Employment
Status and Degree Status, 1983-1985 ......................................... 37

Emergency and Emergency Limited Assignment Credentials, 1981-82
to 1985-86 ........................................................................ 38

Proportion of Professional Development Program (PDP) and Other UC
Berkeley Students With Grades of C- or Below in Undergraduate
Mathematics Courses, Fall 1984 Semester, By Race ........................ 42

Math Requirements for California Elementary and Secondary Math
Teachers ........................................................................... 45

Summary of Teaching Credential Requirements, By Type of Credential . 49

CBEST Passing Rates By Ethnic Group, First —Time Test Takers ........ 53

viii

Appendix Tables

TABLE A1:
TABLE A2:

TABLE A3:

Projected Public School Enrollment in Math, Science, and Foreign
Language Classes, Grades 9 to 12, 1985-86 to 1991-92 ................... 61

FI'Es Needed For Enrollment and Attrition, Annual and Cumulative,
1985-86 to 1991-92 .............................................................. 62

Private School FTEs Needed For Enrollment and Attrition, Annual
and Cumulative, 1986-87 to 1991-92 ......................................... 64

ix

 

Policy Analysis for California Education

Policy Analysis for California Education, PACE, is a university-based research center
focusmg on issues of state educational policy and practice. PACE is located in the Schools of
Education at the University of California, Berkeley and Stanford University. It is funded by the
William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and directed jointly by James W. Guthrie and Michael
W. Kirst. PACE operates satellite centers in Sacramento and Southern California. These are

directed by Gerald C. Hayward (Sacramento) and Allan R. Odden (University of Southern
California).

PACE efforts center on five tasks: (1) collecting and distributing objective information
about the conditions of education in California, (2) analyzing state educational policy issues and
the policy envrronment, (3) evaluating school reforms and state educational practices,

{4) providing technical support to policy makers, and (5) facilitating discussion of educational
lssues.

The PACE research agenda is developed in consultation with public officials and staff. In
this way, PACE endeavors to address policy issues of immediate concern and to fill the short-
term needs of decision makers for information and analysis.

PACE publications include Policy Papers, which report research findings; the Policy

Forum, which presents views of notable individuals; and Update, an annotated list of all PACE
papers completed and in progress.

Advisory Board

Mario Camara A° Alan Post
Partner California Legislative Analyst,
Cox, Castle & Nicholson Retired
Constance Carroll Sharon Schuster
President, Saddleback Executive Vice President
Community College American Association of University Women
Gerald Foster Eugene Webb
Region Vice President Professor, Graduate School of Business
Pacific Bell Stanford University
Robert Maynard Aaron Wildavsky
Editor and President Professor of Political Science
The Oakland Tribune University of California, Berkeley

xi

 

Math, Science, and Foreign
Language Instruction in California:
Recent Changes and Prospective Trends

California's increased high school graduation and college entrance requirements
have changed course-taking patterns among California's high school students. More
college preparatory classes are being taught; at the same time, fewer general and vocational
classes are offered. Enrollment has increasedin all levels of math, science, and foreign
language instruction. More students are enrolled in advanced placement classes. In
addition, California's new state frameworks for math, science, and foreign language
contain state-of-the-art instructional guidance for district curriculum leaders and teachers.

California still has much to do, however, before there is an appropriately
credentialed teacher in every math, science, and foreign language class and before students
of all racial and ethnic groups and both genders are equally likely to enroll in advanced
classes.

This raises several concerns. While California has always imported education
talent, its diversified economy has also provided a social and economic ladder for those less
well educated, and members of groups who traditionally have not pursued higher education
compose an increasing share of the state’s population. But anticipated economic changes
arising from an increasingly technological industrial base will make upward mobility more
difficult for persons less well educated (McCarthy and Valdez 1986). As California's
future economic competitiveness is believed to be closely linked to the quality of elementary
and secondary education, demanding programs in math, science, and foreign language for
a broad range of students may enhance the state's economic position as well as serve the
personal aspirations of its citizens.

Similarly, the quality of California's future teachers depends in part on how well
today's students are prepared for college. Only with adequate high school preparation can
students complete demanding majors and consider careers which require advanced
preparation. Assessments, contained in this report, of student enrollment in math, science,
and foreign language classes, teacher supply and demand, and state policies regarding
math, science, and foreign language instruction may fill a need for information and provide
1985—86 benchmarks against which California can measure its progress.

Organization of this Report

Following a summary of methodologies, procedures, and sources of data, Section
One of this report contains information about students in secondary (grades 9 through 12)

2 MATH, SCIENCE, AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION IN CALIFORNIA

math, science, and foreign language courses. Instructional time spent at elementary and
middle schools on these subjects is reported.

Section Two describes factors that influence teacher supply and demand in math,
science, and foreign language in California. The impact of working conditions on teacher
supply, ascertained from a stratified random sample of public and private school teachers,
is discussed. Qualifications and demand for both public and private school teachers are
compared. Demand for teachers in math, science, and foreign language is estimated using
subject-specific enrollment forecasts, and future supply is approximated from various
sources of supply. An upper and a lower bound for both demand and supply is developed.
The potential for shortage of qualified personnel is evaluated.

Section Three contains descriptions of programs to increase enrollment and college-
going rates of members of underserved minorities. California's Performance Report for
Schools and its curriculum frameworks, which embody state-level policy and curriculum
guidance, are described. Teacher certification requirements are summarized.

Section Four contains a summary of findings and policy implications.

Summary of Methodologies, Procedures, and Sources of Data

California's Basic Educational Data System (CBEDS) was used to determine
student ethnicity and gender (1985-86 School Information File—SIP) and teacher
assignments and qualifications (1981-82, 1985-86 Professional Assignment Information

File—PAIF). Student enrollment projections were prepared by the California Department of
Finance (DOF).

Information on California teacher credentials is maintained by an independent
agency, the Commission on Teacher Credentialing. Based on their published reports and
additional data compiled specifically for this report, the rate of increase in the number of
credentialed teachers was approximated. Attrition and re-entry information is provided for
all K-l4 employees by the State Teachers Retirement System (STRS). Educational Testing
Service, which administers the California Basic Educational Skills Test (CBEST) for the
Commission on Teacher Credentialing, analyzed data about CBEST test takers for this
report.

In addition, a stratified random sample of secondary public and private school
math, science, and foreign language teachers was surveyed. The sample, provided by
Market Data Retrieval, was representative of urban, rural, suburban, low- and high-income
districts throughout California. Fifty-nine percent of public school teachers surveyed
(652 of 1,100) and 57 percent of private school teachers surveyed (200 of 350) responded.

SUMMARY OF METHODOLOGIES, PROCEDURES, AND SOURCES OF DATA 3

Thirty-seven private school principals chosen from the 1986 State Department of
Education Directory to represent the range of California private schools—evangelical to
secular, low income to high income, rural to urban-also responded to a survey.

A three-step process was used to increase the rate of return for all three surveys: an
introductory postcard, the survey, and a follow-up survey were mailed at one-week
intervals. Surveys were forrnated as booklets and were accompanied by stamped, self-

addressed return envelopes. A cover letter described the purpose and importance of the
study. '

 

Section One
Student Participation and Performance

This section describes 1985-86 secondary public school enrollment in math,
science, and foreign languages, and teachers' perceptions of minority students' persistence
in the advanced classes. It also reports time allocated in elementary and middle schools to
these subjects. Data from both public and private schools is presented. Public school data
were obtained from the California Basic Educational Data System (CBEDS), School
Information File (SIF), and from a survey of teachers. Private school data were obtained
from surveys of private school principals and teachers.

Enrollment in Math, Science, and Foreign Language Classes

Corrected for school population changes, enrollment in math, science, and foreign
language classes for students in grades 9 to 12 increased between 1981-82 and 1985-86.
Math enrollment, which increased 2 percent, includes students in consumer math and
remedial classes as well as students in calculus. Similarly, the number of students enrolled
in all levels of science, from general science to advanced placement physics, increased
27 percent. The number of language students, enrolled in classes as diverse as Spanish 1
and advanced placement Latin, increased 21 percent during this period. While some
students enrolled in more than one class in each subject area in the same year, for example,
Latin 1 and French 5, increases of this magnitude largely represent additional individuals,
rather than the same individuals taking additional classes. These striking increases are a
result of both a nationwide climate of school improvement as implemented by state
legislatures and local boards of education and three specific changes adopted by the state
legislature and institutions of higher education:

0 Beginning with the graduating class of 1986—87, two years of science, two years of
math, and one year of foreign language or fine arts are required for high school
graduation (Senate Bill 813).

o The University of California (UC) and the California State University (CSU)
increased admission requirements for high school students graduating in 1988 and
thereafter (Table 1).

0 UC, CSU, and many private colleges and universities now award extra weight for
grades earned in honors and advanced placement classes.

TABLE 1

Graduation Requirements Established by SB 813
and Recommended By the State Board of Education,
Admission Requirements for CSU and UC

MATH, SCIENCE, AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION IN CALIFORNIA

 

 

State CSU UC
Board of Required Required
Subject SB 813 Education 19 8 8 198 6
English 311 4 4
Mathematicsg 2 3 3 3
Algebra (1)
Geometry (1)
Science 2 2 1d 1d
Physical (1) (1)
Life (1) (1)
Social Studies 3 3 1e 16
World Civ. (1) (1)
US. History (1) (1) (1) (1)
Ethics («5)
American Gov. (1)3 ( 1) (1)
Economics (.5)
Foreign Language 1b 2‘3 2C 2C
Fine Arts 1b 1 1f
Computer Studies .5
Physical Education 2
Electives 3 4

a Including civics and economics

b One year foreign language or fine arts
C Must be in same language

d Lab required

e U.S° History/Government

f Visual and performing arts

g Including remedial arithmetic

h Numbers represent years

SOURCE: California Postsecondary Education Commission and California State

Department of Education.

STUDENT PARTICIPATION AND PERFORMANCE 7

Distribution of Math Enrollment

 

Math enrollment is concentrated in introductory level classes, but distribution
between levels changed substantially between 1981-82 and 1985-86 (Table 2). Enrollment
in remedial math classes declined 16 percent (corrected for enrollment growth), and
enrollment in algebra and plane geometry increased 23 percent.

During the same period, enrollment in intermediate algebra and fourth-year math
classes decreased slightly (4%). Enrollment in advanced placement (AP) math increased 36
percent, doubtless in response to change in calculating grades earned in AP classes.

Nevertheless, fewer than three percent of more than one million math students enrolled in
advanced math courses.

Nearly 70 percent of high school math students are enrolled in remedial and
beginning courses. Thirty percent of high school students continue to receive remedial
instruction, which, according to The Math Framework, should have been completed in
junior high school.

Dism'bpg'gn Qf Seienee Enrollment

While total science enrollment has increased, enrollment data indicate that it is
concentrated in lower-level general science classes (Table 2). Ninety-five percent more class
sections of introductory science were offered in 1985-86 than in 1981-82, and enrollment
increased from 189,000 to 348,000 students, an increase of 38 percent, corrected for
enrollment growth. Introductory classes account for 61 percent of the enrollment increase
during this period. Actual enrollment in the three staples of high school science—biology,
chemistry, and physics—increased 22 percent, 52 percent, and 30 percent, respectively, but
some advanced and specialized sections were eliminated during the same period. The
number of astronomy, aerospace, and aviation education sections, for example, declined by
14 percent between 1981-82 and 1984-85. Science for the gifted and talented is no longer
offered, although nearly 7,000 students were enrolled in 202 sections in 1981-82.

Distribution of Foreign Langgage Enrollment

Foreign language enrollment increased in both introductory (first and second year)
and advanced sections, 21 percent in the former and 62 percent in the latter (Table 2).
Despite the increased enrollment in advanced classes, less than 20 percent of foreign
language students are enrolled in third year and above. Enrollment in fourth year and

8 MATH, SCIENCE, AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION IN CALIFORNIA

honors foreign languages cannot be evaluated because it is not listed separately on
CBEDS. Combination classes account for eight percent of advanced foreign language
enrollment, indicating that foreign language teachers frequently instruct combined levels
during the same class period. Foreign language teachers in our survey reported that they
often taught three levels of the same language in the same class period. Thus, a French
teacher might teach second-, third-, and fourth-year students during the same hour. While
second-year students might benefit from exposure to more advanced topics, fourth-year
students probably receive less effective instruction in a combined class.

TABLE 2
Enrollment in Math, Science, and Foreign Languages,

Grades 9 to 12, 1981-82 and 198586
(Corrected for Enrollment Growth)

 

 

1981-82 1985—86 Percent

Enrollment Enrollment Change
Remedial Math 365,995 319,738 «16%
Algebra and Plane Geometry 355,544 454,677 23%
Other Math 265,398 266,404 «4%
Advanced Placement Math 10,262 14,574 36%
Total Math 997,199 1,055,393 2%
Introductory Science 189,017 347,943 77%
Other Science 409,297 510,469 20%
Total Science 598,314 858,412 38%
First, Second Year Foreign Language 308,026 389,393 21%
Advanced Foreign Language 57,061 96,319 62%
Total Foreign Language 365,087 485,712 28%

SOURCE: California Basic Educational Data System, 1981-82, 1985-86.

More than 75 percent of first— and second-year foreign language class sections are
Spanish (8,500 of 13,000). Only 67 sections (1,656 students) of introductory Asian
languages of the Pacific Rim—Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese—are offered.
Elementary and advanced Russian are studied by 600 students, or 0.1 percent of foreign
language students.

It is diffith to know what to make of the large proportion of enrollment in
introductory courses. On one hand, more students may be starting preparation for
advanced study. On the other hand, students may be fulfilling new graduation
requirements with general track classes, especially in science, where courses are
traditionally discrete and not cumulative. When schools are preparing to meet more

STUDENT PARTICIPATION AND PERFORMANCE 9

rigorous requirements, enrollment may be concentrated more heavily in introductory
classes because students lack appropriate preparation and faculties lack appropriately
qualified teachers. A better judgment about the distribution of enrollment must wait until
new standards’have been in place longer.

Distribution by Ethnicity and Gender

In all of California in 1984-85, only 6,515 Hispanic and 3,312 black high school
graduates completed the “a-f” requirements necessary for UC admission (Table 3). That
represents 15 percent of Hispanic and 17 percent of black graduates, but an even smaller
proportion of the age cohort because of the large number who drop out. Comparable
percentages for other ethnic groups reported on CBEDS are: 14 percent of American
Indian, 42 percent of Asian, 22 percent of Pacific Islander, 31 percent of Filipino, and 27
percent of white graduates. Similar differences in levels of enrollment can be found by
gender and ethnicity in science, math, and foreign languages.

TABLE 3

Number of Graduates and Graduates Meeting
a-f Requirements by Ethnicity, 1984-85

 

 

a-f Grads as
Graduates a-f Graduates % of Graduates
American Indian 1,839 254 13.8
Asian 16,788 7,093 42.2
Pacific Islander 1,208 269 22.3
Filipino 4,512 1,393 30.9
Hispanic 42,386 6,515 15.4
Black 19,285 3,312 17.2
White 141,008 38,698 27.4
Total 227,026 57,534 25.3

SOURCE: California Basic Educational Testing System, School Information File, 1985~86.

Students in advanced math (third-year math or second-year algebra) and physical
science courses in 1985-86 in California were more likely to be Asian or white, and male.
For example, Asians constituted only seven percent of total high school enrollment, yet
13 percent of algebra students, 21 percent of advanced math students, 20 percent of
chemistry students, and 14 percent of physics students were Asian. One in three Asian
high school students was enrolled in algebra or advanced math (intermediate algebra) at one

10 MATH, SCIENCE, AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION IN CALIFORNIA

extreme, while at the other extreme only one of 17 Hispanic high school students was
enrolled in those classes. Twenty percent of Asians, 14 percent of Filipinos,

10 percent of whites, 5 percent of blacks, 4 percent of American Indians, and 4 percent of
Hispanics were enrolled in physics and chemistry (Table 4). Based on teacher reports,
these percentages may understate actual percentages of ethnic minority enrollment. Schools

and teachers have been observed to group successful minority students with white students
rather than their actual ethnic group.1

Males are more likely to take science classes which require math proficiency. Males
are also more likely to complete more years of math and science in high school. In
contrast, enrollment in algebra and accelerated math in junior high school is evenly
distributed by gender. The disparity between male and female enrollment in science classes
is most pronounced in advanced physics, the science class most heavily dependent on
mathematics. In 1985-86, 37 percent of 2,700 advanced physics students were female.

Eighty-six percent of male freshmen entering UC Berkeley in 1983 and 1984 had
taken four or more years of high school math, compared to 76 percent of female freshmen.
Although nearly the same percentage (60%) of males and females had completed one year
or less of biological sciences, 75 percent of males had completed two or more years of
physical science, compared to 63 percent of the women. Twice as many males (5.7%) as
females (2.8%) had completed four years of physical science in high school (Frank 1985).

With the notable exceptions of black and Filipino females, males of all ethnic
groups are more likely to enroll in high school physics and chemistry (54%) than females
(46%) (Table 5); however, students in advanced life science and foreign language classes
are more likely to be female (Table 6). In 1985-86, 60 percent of 18,000 physiology
students and 56 percent of 3,500 anatomy students were female. Five thousand more
females than males enrolled in biology. Females are also more likely to enroll in both
beginning and advanced foreign language classes than are males. Fifty-five percent of
students in introductory foreign language classes and 58 percent of students in advanced
foreign language classes were female. Females entering UC Berkeley in 1983 and 1984
were more likely to have completed three or more years of high school foreign language.

Seventy-seven percent of females had done so, compared to 66 percent of males (Frank
1985).

Information on the extent to which handicapped and gifted students enroll in math,
science, and foreign language classes is not available from CBEDS. Teachers who
responded to our survey reported that handicapped students rarely enroll in advanced
classes, while gifted students are more likely to enroll. Private schools in our sample
reported no handicapped students. Also, most private schools in our sample did not
identify gifted students; therefore, they could not comment on enrollment or persistence

 

1Judith Bodenhausen raised this issue.

TABLE 4A

Ethnic Group as Percent of Total Enrollment and as Percent of Enrollment
in Algebra, Advanced Math, Chemistry, and Physics, 1985-86

 

 

 

 

 

Ethnic Group Percent Percent Percent Percent
as Percent of Total Algebra Adv. Math Physics Chemistry
Enrollment Enrollment Enrollment Enrollment Enrollment
American Indian 0.8 0.6 0. 4 0.4 0.4
Asian 6.8 12.8 2.0 6 20.1 . 14.0
Pacific Islander 0.5 0.5 0. 5 0.5 0.4
Filipino 1.9 2.6 3.1 3.4 3.0
Hispanic 23.6 12.7 9. 4 8.3 12.3
Black 9.6 6.2 4.0 4.3 6.3
White 56.7 64.6 62.0 63.0 63.6
Table 4B
Total Enrollment in Grades 9 to 12 and
Enrollment in Algebra, Advanced Math, Chemistry, and Physics
By Ethnic Group, 1985-86
Percent Percent Percent Percent
Ethnic Group Ethnic Group Ethnic Group Ethnic Group
Total in Algebra in Adv. Math in Physics in Chemistrv

American Indian 12,777 5.9 2.2 1 1 3.1
Asian 101,087 15.5 15.1 7 0 12.9
Pacific Islander 6,962 8.8 5.5 2 6 5.6
Filipino 28,221 11.3 8.2 4 3 10.0
Hispanic 353,617 4.4 2.0 0 8 3.3
Black 144,317 5.3 2.1 1 0 4.1
White 848,113 9.4 5.4 2 6 7.0
Total 1,495,094

Note: Members of minority ethnic groups may be undercounted because of teacher misidentification.
SOURCE: Califomia Basic Educational Testing System, School Information File, 1985-86.

EIDNVWHOJHEICI CINV NOLLVdIDLLHVd .LNHCIfllS

II

TABLE 5

Female Enrollment in Four Subjects By Ethnic Group, 1985—86

 

 

 

 

 

 

Algebra Advanced Math Chemistry Physics
Total Percent Total Percent Total Percent Total Percent
Enrollment Female Enrollment Female Enrollment Female Enrollment Female
American Indian 756 43 280 45 395 47 142 33
Asian 15,709 47 15,214 45 13,068 46 ' 7,081 40
Pacific Islander 615 47 383 51 392 51 182 35
Filipino 3,201 51 2,319 46 2,825 52 1,205 46
Hispanic 15,581 49 6,935 56 11,538 49 2,940 39
Black 7,679 56 2,983 45 5,898 57 1,504 50
White 79,3 87 49 45,792 45 59,556 48 22,223 37
TOTAL 122,928 73,906 93,672 35,277

SOURCE: California Basic Educational Testing System, School Information File, 1985-86.

21

VINHOHI'IVD NI NOLLOHHLSNI HDVHDNV’] NDIERIOfl CINV ‘EIDN'EIIDS ‘HLVW

STUDENT PARTICIPATION AND PERFORMANCE 1 3

among this group of students. The remainder indicated that nearly all their students were
gifted. CBEDS contains statistics on enrollment by race or ethnicity only in algebra,
advanced math, chemistry, and physics, so it is not possible to report the frequency with
which members of racial or ethnic minorities enroll in other classes. CBEDS information
for 1986-87 will contain that data, however, as well as data on ethnic group enrollment in
all science classes which meet University of California admission requirements.

TABLE _6
Enrollment in Elementary and Advanced

Math, Science, and Foreign Language Classes
By Gender, Grades 9 to 12, 1985-86

 

 

Percent Percent
Class Enrollment Male Female
Remedial Math 319,738 54 46
Algebra and Plane Geometry 454,677 50 50
Advanced Math 280,978 52 48
Total 1,055,393 52 48
Introductory Science 347,943 52 48
Advanced Life Science 22,703 46 54
Advanced Physical Science 7,994 62 38
Other Science 479,772 52 48
Total 85 8,412 5 l 49
Introductory Foreign Language 389,393 45 55
Advanced Foreign Language 96,319 42 58
Total 485,7 12 45 55

SOURCE: California Basic Educational Testing System, Professional Assignment
Information File, 1985-86.

P r i n 2
Enrollment statistics do not tell the whole story. Minority students may enroll in

challenging classes but not complete them. Female students were more likely to drop

classes than male students, according to 11 percent of teachers who responded to our

 

2 Dr. Pamela Arbuckle raised this concern.

l4 MATH, SCIENCE, AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION IN CALEORNIA

survey, while gifted students were seen as more likely to drop out, according to only five
percent of respondents. Fifty-two percent of public school teachers in the survey affirmed
that limited-English—proficient students were more likely to drop out of advanced classes
than were other students. Forty percent of teachers responding to the survey reported that
black students were more likely to drop out, and 38 percent reported that Hispanic students
were less persistent. Again, these estimates may be biased upward due to the tendency of
teachers to group successful minority students with white students.

From CBEDS data it appears that students from minorities other than Asian are less
likely to enroll in advanced classes than their white and Asian peers. At the same time, 24
percent of public school respondents indicated that their schools had special programs to
increase minority and female participation and persistence in advanced classes. (These
programs will be described in Section Three.)

Private school headmasters and teachers reported that minority and majority
students were expected to take and complete the same program. As with public schools,
UC admission requirements determine college preparatory programs at most private high
schools in the survey sample. As with public schools, minority enrollment is concentrated
in a few large urban private schools.

Instructional Time in Grades 2. 4. 6. and 8

Elementary and junior high school classes in math, science, and foreign language
provide crucial preparation for high school study. In 1985-86 for the first time, CBEDS
contains school-level data on instructional time for each subject in grades 2, 4, 6, and 8.
Time spent is, of course, not synonymous with effective instruction. Nevertheless, it
reflects the extent to which students are exposed to math, science, and foreign languages.
The state of California and local districts establish minimum instructional time for each
subject at each grade level. Therefore, in some instances, these data may represent
mandated rather than actual instructional time.

As Table 7 indicates, the majority of students in gade 2 spent between 38 and 58
minutes per day in math class, while grade 8 students spent 52 minutes on average per day.
Science was emphasized less than math at every grade level, while foreign languages were
taught an average of 15 minutes per day in grade 2.

More interesting, however, is the fact that of 4,400 elementary schools, only
671 reported teaching foreign language at grade 2. The number and percentage of schools
with foreign language programs decreased steadily through grade 8, although the time
spent increased (Table 8).

STUDENT PARTICIPATION AND PERFORMANCE 15
TABLE 7

Instructional Time in Grades 2, 4, 6, and 8 in California School Districts,
Mean (and Standard Deviation) Minutes per Week, Total and Selected Subjects .

 

 

Foreign
Math Science Language
Minutes Minutes Minutes
Grade per Week per Week per Week
2 239.8 148.0 67.9
(51.0) (55.0) (51.6)
4 268.8 174.6 64.4
(41.0) (50.6) (54.0)
6 267.1 181.2 73.7
(42.9) (51.8) (67.7)
8 258.6 231.1 190.3
(54.7) (68.5) ' (87.0)

Note: Minutes per day can be obtained by dividing these values by 5.
SOURCE: California Basic Educational Testing System, School Information File, 1985-86.
TABLE 8

Number of Schools Reporting Instructional Time in
Grades 2, 4, 6, and 8, By Grade Level and Subject, 1985-86

 

 

(N = 6 , 0 5 3)
Number of
Schools at Foreign

Grade Level Math Science Language
Grade 2 4409 4397 4389 671
Grade 4 4380 4344 4336 650
Grade 6 3874 3785 3773 604
Grade 8 1745 1687 1633 566

SOURCE: California Basic Educational Testing System, School Information File, 1985-86.

 

 

Section Two
Supply and Demand for Qualified Teachers

This section describes factors that affect supply and demand for California math,
science, and foreign language teachers. Teacher working conditions, a significant factor
affecting supply, are described. Qualifications and demand for public and private school
teachers are compared. Teacher demand in the three fields is projected and future supply is
estimated. Upper and lower boundaries for demand and supply are developed, and the
likelihood of a shortage of qualified personnel is evaluated.

Factors Influencing Teacher Supply and Demand

Because of California's size and geographical diversity, the teacher labor market is
complex and diverse. The state's economy, the seventh largest in the world, offers many
employment alternatives for people skilled in subjects in which there is also high demand
for teachers. Abundant employment opportunities for math and science professionals make
teacher shortages in those fields more likely. The relatively larger supply of foreign
language teachers may result from fewer employment alternatives for foreign language
specialists.

High demand for a small number of skilled math and science professionals in
business, industry, and higher education raises entry-level and lifetime salaries beyond
those available to school teachers (Levin 1985). In particular, defense-related industries
attract many math and physical science professionals. Increasing opportunities in genetics
and other biological fields may lure life scientists.

In contrast, skills in foreign languages have been less in demand. Native speakers,
who are also fluent in English, are available for business and industry. Fewer employers
require expertise in foreign languages than require science expertise. Many positions
requiring foreign language expertise pay lower salaries and require frequent travel. For
these reasons, specialists in foreign languages may find school teaching more attractive
than alternatives in business and industry. What has been true in the past, however, may
not be so in the future. Foreign language specialists are increasingly sought for computer
programming, where their ability to learn languages and communicate effectively, using
nontechnical language, has become an asset.

As a consequence of current differences in employment alternatives, however,
lower levels of qualifications are expected among math and science teachers than among
foreign language teachers. In the random sample of teachers surveyed for this report, 44
percent of teachers with bachelor's degrees in science also held advanced degrees in
science, compared to 68 percent of teachers with both bachelor’s and advanced degrees in

17

18 MATH, SCIENCE, AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION IN CALIFORNIA

foreign languages. California's Basic Educational Data System (CBEDS) data indicate that
foreign language teachers more frequently have advanced degrees. However, CBEDS data

do not specify the academic discipline in which the advanced degrees were earned
(Table 9).

TABLE 9

Highest Educational Level Attained By Teachers of
Math, Science, and Foreign Language, 1985-86

 

Math Science Foreign Language
(N = 10,811) (N = 7,667) (N = 4,474)
Percent Percent Percent

 

Less than BA

0.8 0.7 0.7
BA 9.1 8.8 7.5
BA + 30 44.3 44.3 43.8
MA 14.6 13.9 14.7
MA + 30 29.9 30.4 30.7
Doctorate 1 .4 1.7 2.2
Missing 0.1 0.2 0.3

SOURCE: California Basic Educational Data System, Professional Assignment
Information File, 1985-86.

Teacher shortages in math and science are exacerbated because females are more
likely to teach than are males, yet are less likely to study physical science and math.
Affirmative action programs in business and industry may further reduce the number of
female science teachers available to become mentors for prospective female scientists.

While special conditions reduce the supply of math and science teachers, other labor
market factors influence the availability of all teachers. Prevailing wages in some
geographical areas exceed teacher salaries (Fulton n.d.). High transportation costs (both
time and distance) may reduce the attractiveness of teaching (Yamahara 1986). High
housing costs outpace teaching salaries in some areas (Fulton 1984). Extreme isolation or
weather conditions reduce availability of trained professionals who have employment
options in more favorable locations (principals' survey). Even within geographical areas or
within a district, large differences in working conditions make it difficult for some districts,
and for schools within districts, to hire and retain skilled teachers (Bruno 1986).

SUPPLY AND DEMAND FOR QUALIFIED TEACHERS 1 9
Salaries and Working Conditions

In teacher opinion surveys (Koppich 1985; Cagampang 1986; Harris 1985), current
and former teachers mention two discouraging labor market factors most frequently:
salaries and working conditions. Each is clearly very important for teachers at all stages of
their careers. Many teachers, demoralized by declining salaries and worsening working
conditions, have sought other employment. Today's experienced teachers began their
careers during the 19603 when teacher salaries often exceeded those available to other
professionals with equivalent education. They naturally expected that advantage to
continue. Instead, teachers forfeited job security because of declining enrollment, and their
salaries declined relative to comparably experienced professionals.

Recent college graduates, on the other hand, have opportunities to earn much larger
beginning and lifetime salaries in business and industry. The teaching profession involves
sacrifices in income and working conditions.

More than 50 percent of both public and private school teachers in California chose
the profession because they enjoy the subject matter and enjoy working with young people.
The chance to make a difference in the lives of students and in society is an important
motivation. Neither public nor private school teachers feel, however, that psychic rewards
substitute entirely for financial rewards, and they are extremely dissatisfied with their
salaries. Sixty—one percent of public school teachers and 69 percent of private school
teachers in the California sample ranked low salaries among the most important reasons for
considering leaving teaching. The next most frequent reason (lack of administrative
support) was chosen by half as many teachers.

These findings echoed those of the Metropolitan Life Survey of Former Teachers in
America (Harris 1985). Of that national sample, 60 percent of former teachers left because
of low salaries. Of those considering leaving, 62 percent cited low salaries as the main
reason. Sixty-five percent of those likely to leave blamed low salaries (Table 10). Offered
a theoretical choice between a large salary increase or much reduced class size, 80 percent
of California private school teachers and 75 percent of public school teachers preferred a
$10,000 salary increase to a class size lowered by 10 students. Both groups of teachers
were even more in favor of a $1,000 increase than a class size reduction of one student
(private 96%, public 89%). Although most teachers are motivated to enter the profession
for reasons other than salary, as Feistreizer states (1985), they do not willingly forego
adequate salary in exchange for psychic rewards.

Even though teachers in our survey frequently expressed a great love of teaching
and of working with young people, they emphasized that poor worldn g conditions are
demoralizing. A science department chairman in one of California's leading high schools
described working conditions in his high school: janitorial services were nonexistent;
broken windows were unrepaired for a full year; antique, shredded window shades were

20 MATH, SCIENCE, AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION IN CALIFORNIA

not replaced; outdated duplicating equipment was located a full city block from the
classroom; 28 staff members shared one telephone in the supply closet; teachers used their
own typewriters because the department typewriter did not work; the newest laboratory
equipment was purchased in the 19605 with National Defense Education Act (NDEA)
funds; textbooks were outmoded and in short supply; only with parent donations could the
department purchase a hose to fill the donated fish tank, a multi-outlet extension cord, and
Styrofoam for biological models. The annual supplies budget of $135 per class would not
stretch far in preparing experiments for 35 students.

TABLE 10

Reasons for Leaving Teaching

 

 

Those Those
Former Considering Likely
Teachers Leaving to Leave
Low Salaries 60% 62% 65%
Poor Working
Conditions 36% 41% 45%

Note: Percentages sum to greater than 100 percent, because of multiple responses.

SOURCE: The Metropolitan Life Study of Former Teachers in America
(Harris 1985), Table 7, page 19.

This department chairman's school had a particularly difficult time maintaining
adequate equipment. Laboratory scales, desirable items for the local drug trade, were
frequently stolen. A television and VCR, purchased with scarce equipment funds, were
never used in the classroom. Teachers tested the new equipment one Thursday afternoon
and returned it to its specially built storage cabinet under lock and key for the evening. On
Friday morning, they discovered the cabinet demolished and the equipment stolen. Worst
of all, the department chairman reported three science instructors taught science in rooms
without laboratory facilities. With no rooms of their own in which to prepare experiments
and demonstrations, the three teachers regularly traded rooms with other teachers, thus
disrupting twice as many classes. In this district six candidates applied for five openings
created when experienced teachers retired at the same time that graduation requirements
increased. One of the six was not even marginally qualified to teach science; fortunately,
each of the remaining five applicants was acceptably qualified.

That districts have not provided supplies for laboratory classes is an example of
particularly discouraging working conditions. Sixty-one percent of public school teachers

SUPPLY AND DEMAND FOR QUALIFIED TEACHERS 2 1

strongly agreed that they had enough textboooks to give one to each student in every class.
In contrast, only 22 percent strongly agreed with the statement, “The administration

provides my students with basic learning materials (other than textbooks) they need, for
example, laboratory equipment.”

In an attempt to maintain a quality program, teachers have become fundraisers. In a
new incarnation of an old fundraising standby, an enterprising chemistry teacher organized
a multi-district Chemathon. Students solicited donations for every experiment they
completed. These donations were used to buy equipment and supplies for chemistry
classes in the participating students' districts. That is how one group of teachers coped
with insufficient funds for laboratory supplies.

Eighty—five percent of private school teachers, but only 63 percent of public school
teachers, strongly agreed with the statement, “I have enough chairs and desks in my
classroom for all my students.” Once again, private school teachers reported better
working conditions—65 percent, compared to 48 percent of public school teachers, strongly
agreed that their classrooms were large enough for the number of students they taught each
period. Thirty-two percent of public school teachers and 46 percent of private school

teachers strongly agreed that they had ready access to the audiovisual equipment they
needed to do their work.

It might be expected that private schools would face more difficulty in hiring
teachers because wages are typically lower than those in public schools. The mean salary
in our sample for private school teachers was $20,000, while it was $30,000 for public
school teachers. One private school headmaster said the one element that would most
improve his school’s program was “money to pay his excellent teachers what they
deserved.” Better working conditions apparently offset the wage differential for many
private school teachers, however. A young biology teacher who earned only $12,000 per
year, plus housing, said it was well worth it because the working conditions were ideal—
12 students per class, motivated students, and adequate laboratory facilities.

Poor working conditions and uncompetitive salaries reduce teacher effectiveness
and increase attrition. As data displayed in the next section indicate, attrition will account
for the increased demand for teachers in the next five years.

Demand Projections

A single computation, even with allowances for differing time periods, cannot
reflect the balance between demand and supply for California as a whole, for local areas, or
for specific subject areas. Teacher labor markets are, to a great extent, localized and subject
specific. Teachers have been unwilling to commute great distances. Furthermore,

22 MATH, SCIENCE, AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION IN CALIFORNIA

movement from district to district is curtailed because districts rarely allow more than five
years of seniority on the salary schedule for prior teaching experience. Nor can teachers
always transfer from district to district with permanent status, no matter how many years of

experience they had in a prior district. Teachers commonly undergo a probationary period
when they change districts.

Demand for teachers depends on three elements: enrollment, the ratio of students to
teachers, and the attrition rate. Each will be considered in turn.

Projected Enrollment in Math, Science and Foreign Language Classes

Enrollment is declining in general-track classes in a representative sample of high
schools and in vocational classes throughout California, whereas enrollment is increasing
in college-track classes (Grossman, et a1. 1985; Guthrie, et a1. 1986). Given these changes
and the previously reported enrollment increases, enrollment in math, science, and foreign
language classes is expected to remain high. In the absence of further changes in high
school graduation and college admission standards, enrollment will not increase as rapidly
in the next five years as it has in the past three. The State Department of Finance projects
that total high school enrollment will decline between 1985-86 and 1989-90. Because of
the overall population cohort decline, the number of students enrolled in the three subject
areas may decline in the next three years, but the percentage of students enrolled is likely to
increase or remain the same as in 1985-86. Since the emphasis on more rigorous standards
is expected to continue, the percentage of students enrolled in math, science, and foreign
language will likely remain stable or increase in the next five years toward statewide targets
in the school Performance Reports developed by the State Department of Education.

Enrollment in math, science, and foreign language classes is projected in two ways:
first, using a weighted average of participation rates over the past three years; and second,
using the 1985-86 enrollment percent for each subject (79.4 percent for math, 64.6 percent
for science, and 36.6 percent for foreign language). Using the two methods, an upper and
a lower estimate of projected enrollment in the three fields through 1991-1992 were
constructed (Appendix Table A1).

For purposes of estimating demand, student~teacher ratios are assumed to remain
constant during the projection period. The 1985-86 student-teacher ratio in each subject is
used for the projections. The constant ratio assumes that the 1985-86 ratio is also the
preferred ratio and that it will not increase in response to fiscal pressures nor decrease in
response to teacher bargaining.

These assumptions may not prevail over the next five¢year period, however, as the
following possibilities suggest. California is under increasing pressure to reduce class size

SUPPLY AND DEMAND FOR QUALIFIED TEACHERS 23

toward the national average; yet survey respondents overwhelmingly preferred higher
salaries to smaller classes, so teachers may bargain accordingly. Although teachers desire
both smaller classes and higher salaries, taxpayers may be unwilling to increase funding for
K-12 education (Osman 1985). The Gann limit may restrict school expenditures.

Districts, caught between demands for higher salaries and smaller classes, and at the same
time facing declining per-pupil revenues, may be forced to increase salaries and class size.
Thus, student-teacher ratios may increase or decrease, depending on the outcome of state-
level and district-level bargaining.

Replacement for attrition accounts for 80 percent of demand for new teachers.
Attrition includes separations for retirement, occupational change, personal leave,
disability, or death. Separations vary between districts and subject fields and are
influenced by working conditions, wages in nearby districts, and the overall health of the
local economy. Teacher characteristics such as gender, age, family status, and educational
level, as well as teaching field, can be reasonably assumed to influence attrition rates. In
the absence of individual identifiers which would permit calculation of age— or subject-
specific attrition rates, State Teachers Retirement System data were used to estimate
California's attrition rate.

Attrition was estimated in two ways. The lower bound attrition rate is the average
of the annual attrition rates. The upper bound of attrition is provided by the trend of
average annual attrition rates for the last eight years.

Summa_ry of Demand Due to Enrollment Change and Attrition

Table 11 summarizes the projected range of demand for secondary math, science,
and foreign language full-time-equivalent (F'I'E) teachers for the five years to 1991-92,
taking enrollment, attrition, and current student-teacher ratio into account. (See Appendix
Table A2 for annual projections.) California will need between 2,770 and 3,060 new math
teachers (FTE), between 1,750 and 2,480 new science teachers (FTE), and between 1,270
and 1,400 new foreign language teachers (FTE) by 1991-92 to maintain current class sizes.

24 MATH, SCIENCE, AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION IN CALIFORNIA
TABLE 11

Summary of Cumulative Demand, FTEs Needed Due to
Enrollment Change and Attrition, 1985-86 to 1991-92

 

 

LOW1 High2
Math , 2,744 3,058
Science 1,751 2,476
Foreign Language 1,267 1,404

1Lower bound uses weighted average of enrollment percent and the average of annual attrition
rates from State Teachers Retirement System, 1977 to 1985.,

2Upper bound uses 1985-86 percent of total enrollment in each subject and the trend of the
annual attrition rates from State Teachers Retirement System, 1977 to 1985.

The emphasis on FTEs in the previous paragraph is important. With current
staffing patterns, the number Of individual teachers in the three fields is nearly twice as
large as the number Of FFEs. If that relationship continues, then twice as many teachers
will be needed by 1991—1992 to maintain current class sizes.

Demand for Qualified Teachers

Because many teachers in the current year are teaching “out of field,” demand
cannot be projected mechanically from the number of FTES in a subject area from one year
to the next, Therefore, teacher qualifications must also be considered. In addition to
demand due to enrollment changes and attrition, demand to replace unqualified teachers
must be accounted for.

California Basic Educational Data System information (1985—86) indicates that a
large proportion Of teachers instruct outside the subject fields for which they are
certificated. A teacher who reported neither an appropriate single-subject credential nor a
general secondary credential (which would technically qualify him or her to teach any
secondary subject) was designated as "improperly certificated." Although California has
complex and comprehensive requirements for teacher certification, it also provides a wide
range Of Options by which districts circumvent those requirements so as simultaneously to
avoid layoffs, Operate within a single salary schedule, and fill teaching positions with full‘=
time personnel.

SUPPLY AND DEMAND FOR QUALIFIED TEACHERS 25

Many teachers who have general secondary credentials, although technically
qualified to teach, may not, in fact, have optimum qualifications described in the state
curriculum frameworks (Section Three of this report). If a teacher obtained teaching
credentials authorizing service in math, German, and French 15 years ago, she may have
felt qualified to teach all three subjects in a college preparatory program at that time. After a
career of teaching only math, however, she may no longer feel qualified to teach German or
French, although technically she remains qualified. Similarly, a high school physical
education teacher may once have been authorized to teach biology or mathematics in
addition to PE. This teacher’s program might today be filled with several periods of
biology or mathematics, yet the teacher would be likely to find the contents of the new
biology or math text as unfamiliar as her students. Although both these teachers meet
technical requirements for qualification, neither could be considered adequately qualified.
In addition, teachers holding General Secondary Credentials can be required to teach even
though they feel unqualified. In contrast, those with Standard Credentials must agree to an
assigmcnt outside a primary teaching field.

More teachers may be appropriately credentialed than CBEDS indicates. Teachers
may have been confused when reporting their credentials because credential alternatives on
CBEDS are not those used by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing. The secondary
choices included “All Subjects (General Secondary)” and 13 specific subject alternatives.
Teachers may be more likely to think of their credentials as Life, Clear, Preliminary,
Emergency, Limited Assignment, or Single Subject credentials. Emergency and limited-
service credentials and waivers are not listed options, nor are Fisher Act (or Standard)
credentials. Teachers with an emergency credential could not have indicated that.

Teachers with science credentials could be found at all levels of the educational
system, from superintendents to teachers of special education. The same was true for
teachers credentialed in math and foreign languages. Fewer math teachers were assigned to
other subjects than were science and foreign language teachers. Of teachers credentialed in
math, 2,353 (26%) had assignments in areas other than math, while 3,832 (42%)
credentialed science teachers had nonscience assignments and 3,362 (47%) credentialed
foreign language teachers had nonforeign language assignments in 1985-86.
Approximately 21 percent of those with math, science, and foreign language credentials
were administrators or counselors. Table 12 indicates the percentage of math, science, and
foreign language teachers distributed in other fields. The largest proportion of math
teachers not teaching math taught science, while the reverse was true for science teachers.
The largest proportion of foreign language teachers not teaching foreign language taught
secondary English and social studies.

26 MATH, SCIENCE, AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION IN CALIFORNIA
TABLE 12

Credentialed Math, Science, and Foreign Language
Teachers Instructing in Other Fields

 

 

 

Field in Which Credentialed Field in Which Working
MATH SCIENCE FOREIGN LANGUAGE
N = 2,353 N = 3,832 N = 3,362
(in Percent) (in Percent) (in Percent)
20 21 23 gdggfliisstgllitiicgn
8 1 1 16 Other Elementary
36 46 41 Other Secondary
4 6 5 Special Education
6 6 2 Vocational
12 10 12 Resource Teachers
14 0 1 Other
100 100 100 Total

SOURCE: California Basic Educational Data System, Professional Assignment
Information File, 1985-86. PACE analysis.

About the same number of teachers had inappropriate credentials to teach their
math, science, and foreign language assignments. In 1985-86, inappropriately credentialed
teachers taught 20 percent of introductory physical science sections, containing 32,000
students. Nineteen percent of math classes were taught by teachers who had neither a
general secondary nor a single-subject credential in math. Among foreign language
classes, 18 percent were taught by teachers not appropriately certificated. Table 13
displays the percentages of classes in each subject field taught by inappropriately qualified
teachers.

SUPPLY AND DEMAND FOR QUALIFIED TEACHERS 27
TABLE 13

Total Number of Math, Science, and Foreign Language Classes
and Percent Taught By Teachers with Neither a General Secondary
Nor an Appropriate Single-Subject Credential, 1985-86

 

 

Percent of Classes
Number of Taught Without
Classes Appropriate Credential
Remedial Math 1 1,891 30
Introductory Math 14,567 14
Advanced Math 6,87 8 18
Other Math (Including AP) 3,316 6

Total 36,652 19
Introductory Science 24,753 18
Non-introductory Science 4,549 26*

Total 29,302 19
Introductory Foreign Language 12,834 19
Advanced Foreign Language 3,747 16

Total 16,681 18

* Note: More than half of these sections are “other science” courses.

SOURCE: California Basic Educational Data System, Professional Assignment
Information File, 1985-86. PACE analysis.

Given the large proportion of teachers teaching without appropriate credentials, a
more educationally focused definition of demand would reflect the need for qualified
teachers in every classroom. Approximately 12 percent of FTEs in each of the three fields
did not fully meet certification requirements for the field (Table 14). An additional 792
FI'ES would have been needed to place a fully qualified math teacher in every math class in
1985-86. For science classes to be staffed by fully qualified teachers, an additional 655
FTEs would have been required; for foreign language classes, another 358 FTEs.

28 MATH, SCIENCE, AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION IN CALIFORNIA
TABLE 14

Additional Secondary FTEs Needed to Replace
Teachers Instructing Out of Field

 

 

Additional
1985-86 Percent Out FTES
FTEs of Field Needed
Math 6,535 12 792
Science 5,240 12 655
Foreign Language 2,970 12 358

Districts' Proiected Hires

Districts indicated to CBEDS (1985—86) that they expected to hire 941 math teachers
(FTEs), 1,009 science teachers (FTEs), and 247 foreign language teachers (FTEs) in 1986=
87, Yet our high projections indicate that 431 math teachers, 362 science teachers, and 206

foreign language teachers will be needed (once again expressed in FTEs)
(Table 15),

TABLE 15

Comparison of Projected Demand for Math, Science,
and Foreign Language Teachers for 198687 and District Reported
Anticipated Hires for 1986-87

 

 

Projected Projected Demand

Demand Anticipated as Percent of

(FTEs) H i re s * Anticipated Hires
Math 43 1 941 46
Science 362 1009 36
Foreign Language 206 247 83

SOURCE: *California Basic Educational Data System, County-District Information File,

State Department of Education.

SUPPLY AND DEMAND FOR QUALIFIED TEACHERS 29

The discrepancy can be explained, at least in part, by differences between local and
state perspectives on teacher attrition. Double counting results when districts count, as part
of the teaching force lost to attrition, teachers leaving one district for another, but not
leaving the teaching force altogether. Of course, districts do have to replace those teachers
who leave for other districts, but California does not have to replace them.

Cumulatively, district-reported demand would be twice as high as state demand if
one-half of teachers leaving were moving to other districts in the state. In fact, nearly one-
half of teachers in their first year in a district in 1985-86 were experienced teachers
(Table 16). The other half-914 math teachers, 585 science teachers, and 221 foreign
language teachers—were new to the profession as well as new to the district. In 1985-86,
inexperienced teachers accounted for approximately one-half of all teachers in their first
year in a district.

TABLE 16

Number of Teachers in First Year of District Service (DY)
and in First Teaching Year (TY), Secondary Only

 

First Year Teachers
as Percent of Teachers

 

DY S l TY S 1 New to District

1985—86

Math 1,838 914 50

Science 1,103 585 53

Foreign Language 507 221 44
1984-85

Math 1,736 768 44

Science 1,321 649 49

Foreign Language 479 172 36

SOURCE: California Basic Educational System, Professional Assignment Information
File, 1984-85, 1985—86.

Newly hired, inexperienced teachers are not a proxy for demand, however, for at
least four reasons. First, experienced teachers returning after an absence from teaching of
one or more years would not have been included in any district’s prior year’s attrition, and
their positions would have represented “real” state-level demand. The 50/50 ratio
understates the net number of new positions statewide to a degree than cannot be
determined currently.

30 MATH, SCIENCE, AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION IN CALIFORNIA

Second, demand might have been greater than supply in certain subjects. Districts
might have used inappropriately certificated teachers already on staff rather than hire
unqualified teachers. In attempting to rectify these misassignments, the district might
report demand above that required to account for enrollment and attrition.

Third, districts might have preferred to offer more classes, for example, in science,
than could be staffed with available teachers. Unable to locate experienced teachers (or
afford to hire them), a district might cancel classes. These shortages could not be
discovered from prior years’ enrollment and staffing ratios and might be expressed, on
CBEDS, as higher than expected demand, based on past enrollment and course offerings.

Finally, districts might report demand for more teachers than could be projected
from past enrollment and staffing ratios because they expected to use teachers in two or
more fields. For example, districts might require teachers to teach Spanish for two periods

per day and social studies for three, but include the full FTE under Spanish since that is the
primary demand.

Distribution 9f Antjcip atggj Hires

Of the anticipated hires, the five largest California counties expected to hire
60 percent of math teachers, 63 percent of science teachers, and 55 percent of foreign
language teachers who will be hired in California in 198687. Los Angeles County, alone,
expected to hire 42 percent of math teachers required in California in 1986-87.

DmanfrPriv thahr

The additional demand for math, science, and foreign language teachers attributable
to private schools is estimated to be between 550 and 600 for the period between 1986-87
and 1991-92. Demand for private school teachers was estimated using Department of
Finance private school enrollment projections and two different scenarios for class size,
class load, and attrition. The following assumptions underlie the first estimate:

1. That student-teacher ratio is approximately 18:1 (US. DOE 1986)

2. That private school teachers have the same class load as public school teachers—
5.6 classes per day

3. That the percentage of private school students enrolled in these three subject
areas is comparable to the percentage of public school enrollment in 1985-86

SUPPLY AND DEMAND FOR QUALIFIED TEACHERS 3 1

4. That teacher attrition in public and private schools is approximately equal

Assumptions two through four are used in the absence of systematic longitudinal
private school data. .

An alternative estimate is calculated using the average class size of private school
teachers who responded to the survey—ZO—and the average class load for full-time teachers-
4.7 classes per day. These two scenarios for calculating demand provide a lower and an
upper bound, respectively, of demand."

Cumulative demand for private school math teachers is between 240 and 258 FTEs
for the period between 1986-87 and 1991-92. For science, private schools will need
between 196 and 210 new teachers to replace those lost to attrition and to account for

increased enrollment. Between 111 and 119 new foreign language teachers will be needed
(Appendix Table A3).

Teacher Supply

Labor Market Influences on Teacher Sunnlv

As complex as it is to project teacher demand, projecting supply is more complex
yet. As Stephen M. Barro (1986) and others (e. g., Rumberger 1985) have emphasized,
the supply of potential teachers cannot be accurately observed in the market place,
especially when districts are not hiring. Neither can supply be accurately projected
independently of wages in alternate employment, working conditions, and individual
preferences. When there are few jobs, the number of teachers hired in one year does not
approximate the number who might have wanted to work. Many more teachers might be
willing to work in any one year at prevailing wages than are hired. Certainly, that is true in
Marin County where one private school reported 75 applicants (the average applicant had a
PhD. in science) for one science teaching position (Private School Survey). Since any
college graduate can become legally qualified to teach in 10 months, and is, therefore, a
potential teacher, sufficiently attractive incentives might convince more college graduates to
consider teaching, thereby increasing supply. Even without addiu'onal incentives, many
more people might choose to teach if positions were available.

Enrollment in teacher training programs declined during the 19705 was probably
due to a lack of jobs rather than uncompetitive salaries and working conditions. Potential
teachers would be unlikely to prepare for a career in which there were no available jobs. In
turn, salaries fell in relation to other occupations because there was an excess supply of

32 MATH, SCIENCE, AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION IN CALIFORNIA

teachers. Had jobs been available, however, many might have wished to teach at
prevailing salaries. Enrollment in teacher training programs in California has climbed
steadily since 1982 in response to the increased availability of jobs and higher starting
salaries. First-time enrollment in science teacher preparation programs, for example,
increased 215 percent from 184 in 1981-82 to 580 in 1984-85.

As Barro has demonstrated, teacher supply can be accurately projected only with a
highly refined model which incorporates factors potential teachers consider when deciding
whether to apply for teaching positions. Such factors would include teacher salaries
(compared to salaries in other occupations), student enrollment trends, demand for the
prospective teachers' skills in other market sectors, geography, school and district location,
composition of student population, cost of living, prevailing wages, working conditions,
and private versus public school employment. Individual characteristics, such as age,
gender, marital status, field of specialization, and family responsibilities, must also be

incorporated in a comprehensive model. Such a model has yet to be constructed for
California.

Lacking this comprehensive model, the future availability of teachers may only be
approximated by examining such factors as enrollment trends in California teacher training
programs, credentials granted to teachers trained outside California, and number of
emergency credentials issued. In addition, characteristics of people taking the California
Basic Education Skills Test (CBEST) suggest the composition of the future pool, From
CBEST data, trends can be identified in the number and types of people considering
entering teaching. Each of these will be discussed in turn.

Enrollment in Teacher Training Programs

Of 67 California teacher training institutions, 47 train math teachers, 50 train life
science teachers, and 42 train physical science teachers. Only 12 programs train teachers of
critical foreign languages—Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Russian (defined
by the Department of Defense)—-while 35 programs train Spanish teachers.

Enrollment in teacher training programs, especially in math and science, has
increased in the past four years, as Table 17 indicates. The number of people first enrolled
in math programs increased 315 percent in the four-year period, while science enrollment
increased 215 percent. Foreign language enrollment increased nine percent over the three
years for which there are available data. The California State University, which trains
70 percent of the state's teachers, estimates that enrollment will increase 40 percent in each
of the next two years.

SUPPLY AND DEMAND FOR QUALIFIED TEACHERS 33
TABLE 17

Number of Individuals First Enrolled in Single-Subject
Credential Programs, 1981-82 to 1984-85

 

 

1981-82 1982-83 1983-84 1984-85
Math 110 162 239 457
Science 184 282 487 580
Foreign Language NA 179 152 195

SOURCE: Commission on Teacher Credentialing 1982-84, 1984-85; Guthrie and Zusman 1982.

There is a relationship between enrollment in teacher training programs and
credentials issued subsequently, but it is not a simple one. Although first-time enrollment
has increased, a large proportion of newly enrolled students are people who have already
found employment using Emergency or Limited Assignment Credentials (cf. Indicators of
Shortage, page 38, and Teacher Qualifications, page 48). Thus, they do not represent a
potential contribution to the supply of new teachers. Many people take more than one year
to complete credential requirements. Others with emergency credentials, who are already
part of the teacher work force, enroll in teacher training programs to retain their emergency
credentials. They do not constitute part of the supply pool, that is, teachers available for
employment. Nevertheless, the effect on supply of those who obtain additional credentials
is positive: although they do not contribute to the supply of new teachers, their new
credentials may reduce the number of improperly certificated teachers. Unfortunately,
available data bases cannot distinguish between new enrollees who are already teaching and
those who have never taught.

firedeng'als Issued

Another way to approach teacher supply is to examine the number of first—ever
credentials issued. Newly credentialed teachers may be part of supply, while emergency
and limited-service emergency credentials indicate teacher shortage. If the number of first
credentials issued increases annually, then one may safely infer that the supply of potential
qualified teachers is increasing.

As Table 18 indicates, the number of first credentials in the three fields has
increased each year, with the exception of 1983-84, when CBEST was first required. As
school of education enrollment continues to increase, one may expect the number of first

34 MATH, SCIENCE, AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION IN CALIFORNIA

credentials to increase as well, although not as rapidly (for the reasons mentioned above),
w1th a corresponding increase in the pool of credentialed teachers.

TABLE 18

First-Ever Credentials (Clear, One-Year Preliminary,

Five-Year Preliminary), 1981-82 to 1985-86

 

1981-82

 

1982-83 1983-84 1984-85 1985-86 Total
Life Science 228 215 183 236 250 1112
Physical Science 54 64 40 75 75 308
Math 208 208 163 159 214 235 979
Foreign Language 316 264 142 197 198 1117
Combinations of
hoof—AME
Language & Science 3 129 75 98 125 602
Language & Math 2 69 31 60 89 323
Life & Physical Sciences 14 71 62 107 129 476
Math & Science 12 57 30 49 57 235

SOURCE: Commision on Teacher Credentialing.

A PACE analysis, conducted with the assistance of the California Commission on

Teacher Credentialing (CT C) and State Teachers Retirement System (STRS) in 1985,

indicated that only 50 percent of teachers who obtained first credentials between 1981 and
1985 were teaching in 1985 (Cagampang, et a1. 1986). Available data do not indicate why

people obtaining regular credentials do not enter or remain in teaching. The other 50

percent of newly credentialed teachers may have decided to pursue other work, may have
decided against moving to areas where jobs were available, may live in an area where there
is an adequate teacher supply, or may have lost out to experienced teachers,

SUPPLY AND DEMAND FOR QUALIFIED TEACHERS 35
Teachers Trained in Other States

In three of the four years between 1981-82 and 1984-85 (Table 19), except in life
sciences, the Commission on Teacher Credentialing issued more credentials to math,
science, and foreign language teachers trained in other states than to California—trained
teachers. The imposition of the California Basic Educational Skills Test (CBEST) in 1983
was associated with a 50 percent decline in the number of teachers trained outside
California who obtained credentials in 1983-84. Subsequent regulatory changes made it
possible for these teachers to obtain one-year nonrenewable (OYNRE) credentials while
waiting to take CBEST, so out-of-state teachers once again contributed to the supply pool.
Since math and science teachers are in short supply throughout the United States, teachers
of these subjects may more easily find teaching positions closer to home. However, a
surplus of math teachers in Europe led California to recruit in Germany for the first time in
1986-87.

TABLE 19

Number of Single-Subject Credentials Issued to Teachers Trained in
California and Teachers Trained in Other States, 1981-82 to 1983-84

 

 

1981-82 1982-83 1983-84 Total
.12 R I D R I D. R I D B. I
Math 129 100 229 100 89 189 65 103 168 294 292 586
Life Science 106 144 250 112 129 241 50 152 202 268 425 693
Physical Science 51 28 79 63 31 94 23 39 62 137 98 235
Foreign Language 196 136 332 157 117 274 59 95 154 412 348 760

D Teachers trained in other states apply directly to Commission for credential.
R Teachers trained in California are recommended by the training institution.
T Total credentials issued in year and subject

SOURCE: Commission on Teacher Credentialing.

Teachers Returning from Personal Leave

State Teachers Retirement System (STRS) matched a random sample of

credentialed teachers with their retirement system membership (Cagampang 1986). That
analysis indicated that all but one of the teachers in the sample had taken at least one year

off from teaching during the working career. Supply estimates must allow for this

36 MATH, SCIENCE, AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION IN CALIFORNIA

continual churning of the teacher work force. In any given year, a large number of
experienced teachers will be returning to part- or full-time employment, as well as leaving
teaching entirely. Although teachers indicate on CBEDS if they are teaching in a district for
the first time, they are not asked to indicate whether they are returning from a leave of
absence. From STRS it appears that 20 percent of new entrants to the retirement system in
1985 were teachers who had taught in the recent past. Although this proportion may
approximate the re-entry rate for math, science, and foreign language teachers as well, it
may overstate re-entry rates for secondary teachers because male teachers, who make up 50
percent of the secondary teaching force, may be less likely to take personal leaves,

California Basic Educational Skills Test Examinees

Another way to estimate the trend in teacher supply is to examine changes over time
in the characteristics of CBEST examinees. Many people consider teaching after having
been out of college for two years or more.

The number of people taking CBEST because they were considering applying to a
teacher training program rose between 1983-84 and 1985-86, The number of
undergraduates considering applying increased 45 percent, from 2,200 to 3,200, while
potential applicants who had been out of college for between 2 and 20 years increased 133
percent from 900 to 2,200 (Table 20). An additional 5,000 people took CBEST in the
three-year period as a condition for obtaining an Emergency Credential (Table 21)., TWO»
thirds of those had been out of college for two or more years. Potential teachers come
increasingly from the group of people who have been out of college for two or more years
and who have been employed in fields other than education or not employed outside the
home. Of the total first-time examinees in 198586, 65 percent (25,000 individuals)
belonged to these groups. That compares with 57 percent (21,000 individuals) from the
1983-84 test cohort. If these trends continue, a major “new” source of supply will
materialize, and California will not have to rely solely on the shrinking cohorts of recent
college graduates for its teachers.

SUPPLY AND DEMAND FOR QUALIFIED TEACHERS 37
TABLE 20

. Degree Status of CBEST Examinees Considering
Applying for Admission to Teacher Training Programs, 1983-1985

 

 

Percent
1983 1984 1985 Change
Undergraduate 2212 2685 3214 45%
Graduate 811 923 1513 53%
Not Attended College
in More Than 2 years 925 1513 2154 133%

SOURCE: Educational Testing Service, 1986.
TABLE 21

Emergency Teaching Credential Candidates
3y Current Employment Status and Degree Status, 1983-1985

 

 

COLLEGE STATUS YEARS SINCE COLLEGE
Undergrad. Grad. 2 3-9 10—20 > 20 Total
1983
Employed not
in education 35 123 135 132 55 11 493
Not employed
outside the
home/student 45 133 93 101 83 20 477
1984
Employed not
in education 101 242 272 306 117 24 1065
Not employed
outside the
home/student 150 270 160 233 134 29 982
1985
Employed not
in education 102 230 291 345 131 16 1119
Not employed
outside the
home/student 153 223 176 227 105 26 912

SOURCE: Educational Testing Service, 1986.

38 MATH, SCIENCE, AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION IN CALIFORNIA

Indicators of Shortage

The actual shortage of teachers is masked by the common practice of placing
teachers in assignments for which they are inadequately qualified or not qualified at all.

Teacher shortage is indicated by cancelled classes and by teachers teaching out of
field or with emergency or limited-assignment credentials. Districts sometimes cancel or
combine classes when an appropriately credentialed teacher is not available. The shortage
of credentialed teachers in math, science, and foreign language is indicated by the more
than 6,000 emergency and limited-assignment emergency credentials issued in the three
fields between 1981-82 and 1984-85 (Table 22). Districts reported that 1,500 teachers of
math, science, and foreign language had emergency credentials or waivers in 198586.,

Neither of these credentials can be issued unless a district governing board formally
declares that a shortage exists.

TABLE 22

Emergency and Emergency Limited
Assignment Credentials, 1981-82 to 1985-86

 

1981-82 1982-83 1983-84 1984—85 1985-86 Total

 

Life Science 101 191 168 303 419 1182
Physical Science 58 77 84 161 182 562
Math 733 741 696 984 766 3920
Foreign Language 175 93 49 99 103 519
Total 1067 1102 997 1547 1470 6183

SOURCE: 1981-85. Commission on Teacher Credentialing. .
1985-86. County District Information File. California Basic Educational Data Servrce

Although fewer math than science or foreign language teachers taught out of field,
teachers without appropriate credentials taught math in every California county. Only three
counties—Lassen, Trinity, and Plumas—reported that all their science teachers had either a
general secondary or a science single—subject credential. Eight northern and rural counties
had no inappropriately certificated foreign language teachers. Fifty—three percent of the
inappropriately credentialed math teachers were in three counties—L05 Angeles, San Diego,

SUPPLY AND DEMAND FOR QUALIFIED TEACHERS 3 9

and Orange. Those same counties employed 45 percent of California’s math teachers. The
same three counties reported 54 percent of inappropriately credentialed secondary science
teachers compared with 42 percent of all secondary science teachers. Five counties, with
San Diego the leader, employed 74 percent of secondary foreign language teachers without
an appropriate credential. Those same counties employed 47 percent of all foreign
language teachers in California (in FTE).

Shortages continue even though the number of people first enrolled in teaching
credential programs and the number of credentials issued increased annually. Despite
increasing education school enrollment and credential completion, more emergency
credentials than first credentials of other types were issued.

At this time, Commission on Teacher Credentialing and CBEDS data bases have
not been compared to ascertain whether new teachers are teaching with emergency,
preliminary, or clear credentials. Instead, the number of emergency credentials issued by
subject was compared with the number of teachers by subject in their first year of teaching.
Because CT C had not yet compiled data on the number of emergency and emergency
limited-assignment credentials issued in 1985-86, the number issued in 1984-85 was
compared with the number of first-year teachers that year. While 768 new secondary math
teachers began teaching in 1984—85, 984 (128 percent) teachers obtained emergency math
credentials. Apparently, some experienced teachers or elementary teachers obtained
emergency credentials in math. This would be the case if districts assigned current teachers
to classes for which they were not credentialed (see Section Three). Six hundred forty~nine
new secondary science teachers entered the field, and 464 emergency science credentials
were issued (71 percent). One hundred seventy-two foreign language teachers began their
first year of teaching, and 99 emergency credentials were issued (58 percent). As might be

expected, the shortage of qualified teachers is less serious in foreign languages than in the
other two fields.

Summag; of Supply and Shortages

High school enrollment will continue to decrease until 1990-91 but enrollment in
math, science, and foreign language classes will increase as students comply with increased
high school graduation requirements, expectations enunciated in California's school
Performance Reports, and increased college admission requirements. As a result, teacher
shortages will continue, especially in densely populated areas of Southern California and in
high—demand/ low-supply fields such as math and science. As more of the teacher pool is
composed of people who have been out of school for a number of years, and who are
likely to be established in their communities, teachers who are not able to find teaching
positions in their local communities or commute ranges will constitute a larger part of the
pooL

4 0 MATH, SCIENCE, AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION IN CALIFORNIA

Districts, as well as private schools, will continue to prefer experienced teachers.
Inner city urban districts will have higher turnover as more jobs become available in
surrounding suburban districts. Some portion of newly trained teachers, then, will not find
teaching positions in their local communities and will be unwilling to move to obtain jobs.
They are ambiguous members of the supply pool—they are trained and willing to teach,
given current salaries and working conditions, but only in certain areas, not necessarily
those in which there are teaching positions. District administrators can be expected to
continue to place a large number of experienced teachers in positions for which they are not

appropriately qualified as they seek to cover classes with existing staff on a single—salary
schedule and with very tight budgets.

Shortages will be masked by out-of-field assignments, use of emergency
credentialed teachers, and class cancellations. Shortages will continue as long as salaries
are substantially below those for similarly qualified individuals in other professions and as
long as lack of adequate induction procedures and poor working conditions contribute to
high attrition rates. The disparity between higher expectations for students and lower
qualifications for teachers may irnperil school reform,

. Section Three
Programs, Guidelines, and Teacher Qualifications

The policy structure within which students and teachers undertake math, science,
and foreign language instruction is composed of school and statewide Performance
Reports, state curriculum frameworks, and teacher training and certification. An
assessment of secondary math, science, and foreign language programs must not stop at
recording numbers of current and future participants, but must examine programs designed
to expand scholastic opportunities, statewide curriculum policy, and policies for evaluation.
These policies and programs focus resources and efforts toward increased student
achievement and instructional quality and guide California's efforts to prepare its youth for
active participation in the economic, cultural, and political life of the next century. This
section, then, describes representative programs assisting underrepresented minorities in
college preparation, state-level policy for school performance evaluation, frameworks for
curriculum and program development, and requirements for teacher credentials.

Programs to Increase Enrollment and College-Going and Completion Rates

There are two types of programs to increase math and science participation by
female and minority students: student support programs and teacher inservice training
programs. In the former group are programs such as Math, Engineering, Science
Achievement (MESA), Upward Bound, and Professional Development Program (PDP),
which encourage and support minority youngsters interested in attending college.
Statewide, 1,500 students participate in Upward Bound, 5,148 in MESA. These programs
emphasize tutoring, peer support, increased opportunities, and exposure to role models.

The Professional Development Program (PDP), sponsored by University of
California faculty, is designed to increase the number of black, Hispanic, Native
American, Filipino, and female students who enter college and pursue careers in
mathematics-based fields, primarily engineering. PDP has sponsored programs since 1975
in Bay Area high schools and at the undergraduate and graduate level at UC Berkeley.
Approximately 200 students from 45 Bay Area high schools participated in 1985. Dr.
Robert Fullilove, director of PDP, reports that fewer students qualify for its program now
because fewer minority students earn acceptable grades in high school math classes than in
the past. In addition, recruiting college-bound black and Hispanic youngsters has become
even more difficult because financial aid has declined. Dr. Fullilove has observed that, as
the Asian reputation for success in math and physical sciences has grown, black and
Hispanic students have become even less inclined to pursue those fields. Nevertheless,
PDP students have been substantially more successful in college-level math courses at
Berkeley than students who did not have that support (Table 23).

41

42 MATH, SCIENCE, AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION IN CALIFORNIA

TABLE 23

Proportion of Professional Development Program (PDP) and
Other UC Berkeley Students With Grades of C- or Below in
Undergraduate Mathematics Courses, Fall 1984 Semester, By Race

 

 

P 1A 1B 16A 50 TOTALS
PDP 6% 21% 28% 0% 17% 17%
(Blacks
Chicano/Mexican)
(N = 120)
Blacks 30% 62% 45% 45% 69% 48%
(N = 311)
Chicano/Mexican 26% 53% 47% 3% 63% 44%
(N = 216)
Chinese 6% 24% 14% 15% 22% 19%
(N = 603)
Whites 16% 29% 26% 25% 29% 27%
(N = 1944)

Note; Non-PDP grade data are derived from fall 1984 grade/enrollment reports. PDP data
represent grades earned in both fall and spring semesters of the 198485 academic year and are
aggregated here for purposes of analysis.

SOURCE: Office of Admissions and Records (OAR), UC Berkeley.

The Cooperative College Preparatory Program (CCPP), funded by the University
of California, Berkeley, is an example of a program targeted to assist traditionally
underserved minority high school students. Working intensively with both teachers and
students in the Oakland Unified School District, CCPP tutors students, supports teachers,
and upgrades math curricula in specific junior and senior high schools where black students
comprise at least 50 percent of the student body (Berman, Weiler & Associates 1985)°

EQUALS, a teacher education program at the Lawrence Hall of Science, University
of California, Berkeley, is an example of a teacher inservice training program. EQUALS
"provides methods and materials to assist elementary, secondary, and preservice teachers to
increase the number of female and minority students participating in mathematics and
computer education. The EQUALS program consists of a 30-hour inservice, with 15

PROGRAMS, GUIDELINES, AND TEACHER QUALIFICATIONS 4 3

hours of follow-up each year for participants who have taken the basic program. In the last
nine years, 10,000 K—12 California teachers have taken EQUALS training and used
EQUALS materials in their classrooms" (Kreinberg n.d.).

Performance Reports and State Frameworks

Since his election in 1982 as California Superintendent of Public Instruction, Bill
Honig has led a Statewide effort to increase curricular rigor and breadth. State and school
Performance Reports and higher expectations for math, science, and foreign language
instruction are key elements of this reform effort. Performance Reports provide an
evaluation tool for California schools while frameworks describe curriculum and program.
Performance Reports, rather than the frameworks, are more likely to guide actual practice
because the former evaluate school progress and performance against similar California
schools, while frameworks model good practice.3

The Performance Report is the keystone of the accountability program that
emphasizes academically rigorous core courses for all high school students. Each school in
the State is compared with a group of 160 similar schools on a variety of quality indicators,
such as increased enrollment in selected academic courses, improved test scores, reduced
dropout rates and increased performance on SATS, Achievement Tests, and Advanced
Placement exams. Statewide improvement targets through 1990 were established for each
indicator. The report contains two parts: the first, prepared by the State, uses statewide
indicators; the second, prepared by the school, contains locally developed descriptions and
evaluations of program quality.

Quality indicators in math, science, and foreign language report students taking
three or more years of math and advanced placement mathematics, and those taking three or
more years of science, chemistry, physics, and advanced science. The school receives a
score related to the number of Students who have taken three or more years of foreign
language.

Performance reports contain statewide averages and targets for each year to 1990.
The target for mathematics—that 75 percent of students complete three years of high school
math-was surpassed in 1985—86. The expectation that 50 percent of seniors complete three
years of science has yet to be accomplished. In 1985-86, 40 percent of high school seniors
had taken three years of science. The Performance Report targets 61 percent of juniors and
seniors to complete advanced science (that is, science which meets UC admission Standards
includes laboratory practice). The 1989-90 foreign language target is for 32 percent of high

 

3Gregg Bender called this distinction to our attention.

44 MATH, SCIENCE, AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION IN CALIFORNIA

school seniors to have taken three years of a foreign language. The 1985-86 level was 26
percent (Performance Report for California Schools 1986).

Performance Reports delineate expectations of accomplishment and quality. They
provide quantitative measures of qualitative program improvements. When implementing a
core academic curriculum, students, parents, teachers, and administrators can evaluate their
efforts against those of their peers by comparing schools that have students similar in ethnic
background, economic levels, and proportion of limited-English-speaking students.

Performance Reports quantify performance outcomes. Frameworks guide
curricular content, teaching, and staff development processes that are intended to develop
positive performance outcomes. Each framework describes the contents of a model
program and is designed to guide local districts and teachers in preparing curricula.
Frameworks describe optimal preservice preparation, effective teaching, expected
outcomes, and improvement strategies. They suggest model inservice training and program
evaluation techniques. Each of the three frameworks will be discussed in turn.

Mathematics Framework

The ideal preservice preparation for elementary and secondary mathematics teachers
is reproduced here from the Mathematics Framework (1985) (Table 24). As do other
guides, the Mathematics Framework advocates instruction that stimulates curiosity,
incorporates several modes of problem solving, and is closely tied to practical applications.

As a statement of philosophy and vision, this framework holds that every
student can enjoy and use mathematics to real advantage and that the power
of mathematical thinking is not reserved for only an academic elite. It also
holds that a more encompassing core curriculum is needed at all grade levels
(SDE 1985).

PROGRAMS, GUIDELINES, AND TEACHER QUALIFICATIONS 45

TAB LE 24

Math Requirements for California Elementary and

Secondary Math Teachers

 

Level I

Level II

Level 111

Course 1: Fundamental Mathematical Concepts I

Course 2: Fundamental Mathematical Concepts 11

Course 3: Geometry for Elementary and Middle School
Teachers ‘

Course 4: Algebra and Computing for Elementary and Middle
School Teachers

Courses 1-4 from Level I
Introduction to Calculus
Four additional Level III courses (other than Calculus)

Calculus Sequence (three courses)
Discrete Mathematics

Introduction to Computing
Mathematics Appreciation

Linear Algebra

Probability and Statistics

Number Theory

Geometry

Abstract Algebra

History of Mathematics
Mathematical Modeling and Applications

 

Teaching Levels

Early Childhood
(Nursery, Kindergarten)
Grades 1-6

Recommended
Minimum Preparation

Courses 1, 3
Courses 1, 2, and 3

Elementary Mathematics Specialist Level H

Middle School Level 11

High School Level HI

Calculus Level 1]] and advanced work

in analysis

SOURCE: State Department of Education, State Framework for Mathematics.

46 MATH, SCIENCE, AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION IN CALIFORNIA

Teachers should model creative problem-solvin g behavior whenever possible, as
this excerpt from the Mathematics Framework recommends:

To help students develop the attitudes and strategies useful in problem solving,
teachers should:

. Model problem-solvin g behavior whenever possible, exploring and
experimenting along with students.

0 Create a classroom atmosphere in which all students feel comfortable trying
out ideas.

0 Invite students to explain their thinking at all stages of problem solving.

- Allow for the fact that more than one strategy may be needed to solve a
given problem and that problems may require original approaches.

0 Present problem situations that closely resemble real situations in their
richness and complexity so that the experience that students gain in the
classroom will be transferable (14).

The Mathematics Framework recognizes that many teachers may not have been
exposed to this kind of mathematics instruction:

Many teachers have learned mathematics in a way that leads them to View it
as a collection of algorithms to practice until either mastery or exhaustion
occurs. Mathematics should be viewed differently. The teacher must
exhibit an attitude Of exploration and invention, conveying the idea that all
students can learn, enjoy and use mathematics (6).

The framework suggests that many teachers will need retraining, in both teaching
methods and curriculum, because they have not been exposed to this kind of teaching.
Retraining should include organized programs that extend over a period Of time in which
coaching and other modern methods of inservice training can have a beneficial longaterm
effect. Programs such as EQUALS and Bay Area Math Project (BAMP) combine handsfi
on practice and follow-up peer support to help teachers improve their teaching skills. In
fact, teachers in our sample firmly supported inservice training which involved helping new
teachers and observing experienced teachers.

PROGRAMS, GUIDELINES, AND TEACHER QUALIFICATIONS 47

Of the public school teachers who responded to our survey, 34 percent reported
that they participated in subject-matter inservice training more than once a year. Seventy-
two percent of these indicated that the training lasted less than a week. Only 18 percent
participated in inservice training lasting more than three weeks.

Science Framework

Science instruction Should proceed in a context much larger than that traditionally
found in classrooms where memorizing facts is the prime objective. Science, according to
the framework (SDE 1978), should encompass two definitions:

In the first category of definitions, science is viewed as a body of collected
knowledge comprised of interconnected sets of principles, laws, and theories
that explain the universe. When people who take this view talk about science,
they refer only to its content—the facts, principles, and laws used to describe
the world around them.

In the second category of definitions, science is viewed as a set of processes
that can be used to systematically acquire and refine information. People who
take this view consider the scientific enterprise to be a set of processes for

obtaining information. . . . The dynamic relationship between systematic
processes and pieces of knowledge is the essence of the enterprise (SDE
1978, 1).

Given the importance of both approaches to science, the following goals of California's
science programs are established:

The goals for science instruction are described under the following
categories: (1) achieving scientific attitudes; (2) achieving rational and
creative thinking processes; (3) achieving manipulative and communicative
skills; and (4) achieving scientific knowledge (SDE 1984, 1).

The Science Framework Stresses process in equal measure with content.

Foreign Language Framework

Similarly, the Foreign Language Framework (1980) recognizes that Students may
be taking foreign languages for a variety of reasons and with a wide range of commitment
to their study. Communication is the primary goal. Students should be able to read and

48 MATH, SCIENCE, AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION IN CALIFORNIA

comprehend and to speak and write so that others may understand them. The secondary
goal is that students become well enough acquainted with cultural attitudes, traditions, and
cues to function in a variety of social contexts in the second language (SDE 1980).
Classroom activities should be structured to meet a variety of learning styles and objectives.
Small and large group instruction allow the teacher to accomplish different objectives and
meet individual needs. “The skillful, knowledgeable, and imaginative foreign language
teacher will devise an assortment of activities that will provide students with opportunities
to communicate in the foreign language” (SDE 1980).

Teacher Qualifications

Private school principals in our sample preferred a teacher with a degree in the
subject to be taught, plus experience teaching at the appropriate level, to one with a state—
issued teaching credential. They indicated that prior teaching experience and subject-matter
competence were more important considerations in the hiring decision than ability to work
with children. Teachers with no prior teaching experience, regardless of employment
experience in the subject field, were unlikely to be hired. Exclusive private schools located
in rural areas reported no difficulty hiring qualified science teachers. One private school
director in a metropolitan area and one in a rural area reported difficulty in locating and
retaining skilled science teachers (6%).

Requirements for public school teachers are more complex. Not only must they
have a bachelor's degree in a subject other than education and verified competence in the
subject to be taught, they must also pass CBEST and obtain a credential. A teaching
credential is required for employment in California public schools. The credential is
awarded either upon completion of an authorized teacher training program at a California
college or upon demonstration by a teacher trained in a state outside California that the
minimum requirements have been met. Several types of emergency credentials can be
obtained in lieu of a full credential if the district board of trustees declares that a shortage
exists. Actual credential requirements are set by schools of education, thus course content
and preparation differ from school to school.

The Commission on Teacher Credentialing issues over 20 types of multiple and
single-subject credentials. New teachers may obtain a preliminary (one-, four—, or five—
year), clear, one-year nonrenewable, or emergency credential, depending on the preservice
training they obtained (Table 25).

PROGRAMS, GUIDELINES, AND TEACHER QUALIFICATIONS 49
TAB LE 25

Summary of Teaching Credential Requirements,
By Type of Credential

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Out of
No State , , ..
Training Training California Training
a a
a '5 =3 i-l 3 8
- = A a? a 8 “>9 '= 5
Requirements ~33 8 an F, m .3 g o g
8 E E5 5 E 8 8 U. >«
V o m '5 0 .5 . o .2
< E m ‘3 F0 0) m 3 <1:
0.) a . .—
m m U i— m E D 2 U"
/ Emergency * * *
é OYNRE * * *
4? One Year
{95’ Preliminary * * * * )k
«5 Four Year
a Prean *
é my * * * * * *
E“ Five Year * * * * * * *
Preliminary
\ Clear * * * * * * * *
One Year
Professional
Training
OYNRE—One year nonrenewable

CBEST—Califomia Basic Educational Skills Test

NTE/Waiver—Acceptable score on National Teacher Exam or completion of Subject Matter Waiver Program

Methods Courses-No more than nine units of methods courses, plus course in teaching reading.

Miscellaneous Courses—Mainstreaming Handicapped; Health, Nutrition, and Drug Abuse Prevention,
Computer Education.

- Teachers trained outside California normally apply for OYNRE, One Year Preliminary, or its
extension, Four Year Preliminary credentials.
0 Teachers trained in California ordinarily obtain a Five Year Preliminary credential or a Clear Credential.

To read this chart:
- To obtain an Emergency Credential, a person must have a B.A. degree in a subject other than
education, pass CBEST, and have a teaching job.
- To obtain a Clear Credential, a person must have a B.A. degree, pass CBEST, complete the
requirements under "California Training," and complete a fifth year of study beyond the B.A.

SOURCE: Commission on Teacher Credentialing.

5 0 MATH, SCIENCE, AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION IN CALIFORNIA

Teachers Trained in California

The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing approves teacher training
programs that meet minimum requirements established by the commission and by the
legislature. The programs, in turn, recommend credentials for individuals who meet certain
minimum requirements. Minimum requirements for a preliminary credential include the
possession of a bachelor's degree, verification of subject matter competence, completion of
one semester of full-time student teaching, nine units of methods courses, and a group of
miscellaneous courses. Teachers must be at least 18 years old, have fingerprint cards
processed for character and identification clearance, and swear to uphold the constitution
and laws of California and of the United States (CCFSF 1984). The candidate must
demonstrate competence in the subject-matter field either by completing a series of courses
approved by the training institution (subject matter waiver) or by passing the National
Teachers Examination in the subject field with a score that equals or exceeds the established
standard. Prospective math teachers must complete 30 semester units of math and 15 units
of related subjects, including demonstrated proficiency in first- and second-year calculus,
geometry, statistics, probability, computer programming, history of mathematics, and
number theory. Life science teachers must have completed courses in, or directly related
to, biology, physiology, ecology, zoology, botany, and marine biology, while physical
science teachers must master courses in chemistry, physics, and earth science. Foreign
language programs must include 30 units of upper division college work in language,

culture, linguistics, and literature (Commission on Teacher Credentialing 1985, Title V,
Section 80086).

Upon completion of these requirements a teacher is granted a five-year preliminary
credential. During the five-year period, he or she completes the fifth year of training
required for a clear credential. Alternatively, the applicant may obtain a clear credential if
the professional preparation program is completed during the fifth year of study beyond the
bachelor's degree. Beginning September 1, 1985, those who have professional clear
credentials must teach at least one semester and complete 150 clock hours of professional
training every five years to renew the credential.

Beginning in 1983, each credential applicant must also pass the California Basic
Educational Skills Test (CBEST) either to obtain a credential or to obtain employment if the
individual has not worked in a position which required a credential in the past 39 months.
A passing score on CBEST is also required to obtain additional credentials.

PROGRAMS, GUIDELINES, AND TEACHER QUALIFICATIONS 5 1

Requirements for Teachers Trained Outside California

Teachers trained outside California may apply for either a one-year nonrenewable
(OYNRE), or a preliminary, credential. The first authorizes the applicant to teach (without
having taken and passed CBEST) in a district in which a shortage of qualified teachers
exists. The one-year period allows the individual to teach while completing the CBEST
requirement. The one-year preliminary credential, obtained by passing CBEST and the
paper screening of professional preparation, can be renewed for a four-year period to allow
time to complete the fifth year and specific California requirements in health and nutrition,
mainstreaming handicapped children, and computer education. At the end of the five-year
period, a teacher receives a clear credential. Beginning September 1, 1985, all credential
holders must teach at least one semester and complete 150 clock hours of professional
training every five years to renew the credential.

Requirements if a Shortage Exists

School districts may hire teachers who do not have the required credential when no
credentialed applicants are available. Under conditions of shortage, districts have several
choices. After the school board certifies that no fully credentialed applicants are available, a
teacher already employed in the district may be granted a limited-service credential or
waiver to teach the subject, on condition that she or he completes 10 semester units of
upper division college course work in the subject in the next five years. If no teacher is
available under this program, the district may hire a teacher trained outside California on a
one.year nonrenewable credential, while the teacher completes the CBEST requirement.

The district may also choose to hire a teacher with an emergency credential. Any
college graduate with a bachelor‘s degree may obtain an emergency credential by passing
CBEST and finding a teaching job. The emergency credential can be renewed annually, as
long as the district continues to certify that a shortage of credentialed teachers exists. The
teacher must complete six units each year until all requirements for the clear credential are
completed. The emergency credential clearly fills a need in certain areas of the state.
Districts reported that emergency credentials or waivers were held by 601 science teachers,
766 math teachers, and 103 foreign language teachers in 1985-86. This apparently does
not include emergency credentialed teachers from prior years who continued to teach.

Districts may also establish a teacher trainee program if there is a shortage of fully
qualified teachers. Trainees must:

52 MATH, SCIENCE, AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION IN CALIFORNIA

Possess a bachelor's or higher degree with a major or minor in the subject
to be taught

0 Pass the California Basic Educational Skills Test
- Pass the appropriate National Teachers Examination
0 Obtain a Certificate of Clearance for health and police record

Districts must complete an employer's statement of need and state that supervision by a
mentor teacher will be provided.

School boards must certify annually that a shortage of qualified applicants exists in
order to continue to employ teachers with limited assignment and emergency credentials.

Im fr nilR irmn nT hrul

An important policy issue is the effect of teaching credentials on the supply of
available teachers. A single new requirement may reduce teacher supply. Following
imposition of the CBEST requirement in 1983, noticeably fewer credentials were issued.
Many highly educated people (mostly women) who had been substituting felt insulted by
the requirement and refused to take the test. Others feared they would not pass it and did
not take it the first year it was required. Other problems with administering the test may
also have reduced the number of test takers. Many districts experienced a severe shortage
of substitute teachers the year that CBEST was first required. The number of credentials
issued increased again in the following year.

CBEST clearly prevents many people who want to teach from doing so. The
failure rate for black and Hispanic applicants has been twice that of white applicants,
although it has declined recently (Table 26). As a result, fewer minority teachers are part of
the applicant pool. Rather than eliminating the basic skills requirement, the best approach
may be to ensure that prospective minority teachers receive sufficient training to enable
them to pass the test (Gifford 1986).

There is considerable debate about the efficacy of credential requirements as
currently constituted. Knowledgeable observers suggest that current requirements
discourage many academically able individuals from pursuing teaching and fail to prepare
those who do complete the requirements for effective classroom service. For additional
information on this topic, readers should refer to the report of the California Commission
on the Teaching Profession (1986), and to Stoddart, Losk, and Benson (1984).

PROGRAMS, GUIDELINES, AND TEACHER QUALIFICATIONS 5 3

TABLE 26

CBEST Passing Rates By Ethnic Group,
First Time Test Takers

 

1982-83 1985-86

Number Percent Number Percent

Tested Passed Tested Passed
Asian 1,259 50 1,125 62
Black 2,040 26 1,997 37
Mexican American 2,133 39 1,759 50
Other Hispanic 754 38 754 48
White 24,540 75 33,563 81
Other 1,326 61 1,421 49
Total 32,039 ‘ 40,619

SOURCE: Commission on Teacher Credentialing, 1985.

 

 

L stag???” ‘

 

Section Four
Summary and Policy Implications

Student Performance

Enrollment in high school math, science, and foreign language classes has
increased dramatically in California since 1982 in response to three policy changes:

' Increased graduation requirements
0 Increased college entrance requirements
- UC and CSU policy for evaluating grades earned in honors classes

Seventy-nine percent of secondary students enrolled in a math class in 1985-86, 65 percent
in a science class, and 37 percent in foreign language. Corrected for student population
changes, high school math enrollment increased nearly 10 percent; science, 47 percent; and
foreign language, 31 percent between the pre—reform year of 1981-82 and 1985—86.

All groups of students have not benefited equally, however:

0 Enrollment is concentrated in introductory-level courses, many of which do not
meet many university and college admission standards.

0 Black, Hispanic, female, and handicapped students are far less likely to enroll
in advanced classes than are their male, white, and Asian counterparts.

- Up to one-fifth of teachers in the three fields are not appropriately credentialed
to teach the subjects to which they are assigned.

Ifdropout rates and continuation school enrollment also increased during the same
period, as has been surmised, some students are not benefiting at all from increased
expectations. Black, Hispanic, and female students, fewer of whom take advanced math
and science classes, benefit to a lesser extent from increased requirements.

Even students enrolled in more advanced classes may not benefit from increased
standards if their teachers are not appropriately qualified. Twenty percent of all math
sections were taught by teachers who indicated they were not certificated to teach math.
Most surprising, 18 percent of advanced math classes and 6 percent of advanced placement

55

5 6 MATH, SCIENCE, AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION IN CALIFORNIA

math classes were taught by teachers without appropriate credentials. An equal percent of
science teachers were not appropriately qualified to teach science.

State frameworks for math, science, and foreign language contain state-of-theeart
instructional guidance for district curriculum leaders and teachers. A concerted effort to
implement the recommendations and programs described in the frameworks would
substantially advance the teaching of these three subjects in California. Equally important
should be a concerted effort to train teachers to involve and encourage students who have
traditionally not participated in advanced study in math, science, and foreign language.
This will be a particularly effective investment during the coming decade as the current
highly experienced teaching force is rapidly replaced by new teachers.

Teacher Supply and Demand

In order to meet demand from enrollment growth and attrition, California will need
2,750 to 3,060 new math teachers; 1,750 to 2,480 new science teachers; and 1,270 to
1,400 new foreign language teachers by 1991—92. At least an additional 800 math teachers,
650 science teachers, and 360 foreign language teachers will be needed to place an
appropriately credentialed teacher in every secondary class. These requirements are
expressed in full time equivalent teachers (F TE ), not individuals, Our analysis of CBEDS
indicates that approximately two individuals are equivalent to one FIE in the subject area.
An additional 240 to 258 math FTEs will be needed for private school demand. Private

schools will need approximately 200 new science teachers and 115 new foreign language
teachers.

Close to 50 percent of public school teachers (FT Es ) in 1990-91 will have been
hired in the previous five years to provide for increased requirements and enrollment
growth and to replace teachers lost to attrition (including retirement). If current patterns
continue, a similar number of teachers will have moved from one district to a neighboring
one. Although California schools of education will continue to train new teachers in the
three fields, a large proportion of the newly trained teachers may be unwilling to move to
obtain teaching positions. In the absence of a change in policy on teacher assignments, the
distribution of newly hired in the next five years will likely be similar to their distribution in
the past five years despite the “availability” of newly trained teachers: approximately
50 percent will be experienced and 50 percent inexperienced. Even experienced teachers
hired to teach math may have limited-service or emergency credentials. Of the
inexperienced teachers, as many as 70 percent may have emergency credentials. As many
as 25 percent of experienced teachers may be assigned to teach courses for which they are
not trained. Preservice, induction, and inservice training will become even more important
in the next five years to ensure the quality of the teaching force and the level of student
achievement.

SUMMARY AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS 5 7

Although the pool of newly trained teachers will increase, large numbers of them
may not find jobs; at the same time, districts experiencing shortages in other parts of
California may hire many teachers with emergency credentials. A larger proportion of new
teachers will be people seeking a second career in education. We may expect that change to
have an effect on school climate and instructional focus.

What are the implications for California's future of differences in levels of student
attainment? As the white portion of California's school-age population declines, the group
of students from which the state has traditionally obtained most of its skilled technical labor
pool will become a smaller and smaller part of the total work force. Asians, who pursue
technical careers at a much higher rate than do members of other ethnic groups, will clearly
fill some of the gap in the required labor supply. Even though the Asian population is
growing rapidly, however, there will not be enough technically skilled workers unless
women and members of Hispanic, black, and other minorities become involved.
Furthermore, without technological skills, women and minority group members will find
themselves increasingly relegated to lower paying service sector employment. California's
economy as a whole will suffer because much of its labor force will have limited earning
potential. Business and industry, forced to locate where it can find skilled workers, will
leave California with less attractive employment options and a lower state payroll. The
ripple effect will touch all economic sectors. As a consequence of the widening earnings
gap between exceptionally high wage earners and service workers, the middle class will
decline absolutely and as a proportion of the total population (BRIE 1986).

California's economic self-interest argues for more intensive specifically targeted
efforts to increase the distribution of traditionally underserved female and minority students
throughout advanced-level classes in math, science, and foreign languages. It argues for
increased preservice and inservice training to improve math, science, and foreign language
teaching and for increased emphasis on the languages and cultures of the Pacific Rim. It
argues for the substance as well as the appearance of higher expectations and achievement.

Policy Implications
Teacher Quality and Student Participation

1. The foundation for high school work is built in elementary schools. Excellent
elementary math, science, and foreign language programs will lead to increased
participation and achievement in high school classes.

2. Members of traditionally underserved minorities (including parents of children in
elementary schools) need information about opportunities in technical fields,
encouragement to pursue them, and connections to obtain them. Well informed teachers, in

58 MATH, SCIENCE, AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION IN CALIFORNIA

addition to specially funded programs such as MESA, play a vital role in this information
transfer.

3. Programs to increase student participation and achievement, such as EQUALS, MESA,

and PDP, should be part of every California high school's staff development program and
curriculum.

4. Educational strategies for involving traditionally underserved minorities and females in

challenging math, science, and foreign language classes should receive as much emphasis
in teacher training programs as does subject-matter competence.

5. Schools need to continue to explore delivery systems which may improve services for

working parents (e.g., year-round schools and childcare) and programs to improve
minority retention to graduation.

6. High schools should identify and implement policies to develop the same level of
female enrollment in advanced high school math classes as prevails in junior high schools.

Supply of Teachers

7. Despite recent improvements arising from SB 813, teacher salaries, particularly in
Southern California, are still not high enough to attract an adequate number of trained
teachers, especially in math and science.

8. As long as teachers can be assigned to teach out Of their field or can be hired with
emergency credentials, the extent of the shortage of math and science teachers and the need
to deal with the problem will continue to be masked.

9. A differentiated salary schedule, with competitive salaries for individuals whose skills
are in short supply, would increase the supply of skilled math and science teachers, without
providing a windfall for teachers in fields in which shortages do not exist.

10. When more emergency credentials are issued than first-year teachers are hired,
preservice teacher training and the teacher credentialing process have little impact on the
quality of teachers hired.

11. The credentialing system, as currently constituted, appears to be a roadblock, rather
than an incentive, to qualified teachers.

12. Concentrating teacher training in geographical areas of high demand would be a more
efficient allocation of limited resources, since few teachers apparently relocate a.) nhtain
teaching positions.

SUMMARY AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS 5 9

13. If California districts gave teachers more credit on the salary schedule for previous
teaching experience, the number of trained teachers hired would increase.

14. To maintain or improve the quality of the teaching profession, school districts will
need additional revenue either to raise salaries sufficiently to attract credentialed teachers or
to provide extensive education and inservice training.

Proar== am Quality

15. Requiring students to take classes for which qualified teachers cannot be provided is
of limited educational benefit.

16. Teachers require adequate texts, desks, materials, and equipment for long-run
productivity. To provide less but expect high productivity is unrealistic and constitutes
poor management of the primary resource available to education.

17. Thorough training in subject~matter frameworks, both preservice and inservice, and
in their guidelines and processes would improve education in California. This effort would
directly support achievement of Performance Report objectives.

18. Educational strategies for involving traditionally underserved minorities and females
in challenging math, science, and foreign language classes should receive as much
emphasis in teacher training programs as does subject-matter competence.

l9. Adequate preservice and inservice training is as important for elementary and junior
high school teachers as for high school teachers.

my: _zfléza:é,.fi 23%;?

r“: ea
H» ;.

5 ~ {aw
' “i “Wm:
si‘ 4 ‘ my;

.1 Ch it r;

133%? '

 

APPENDIX TABLE Al

Projected Public School Enrollment in Math, Science,

and Foreign Language Classes, Grades 9 to 12, 1985-86 to 1991-92

 

 

Projected

Total Math Science Foreign Language
Year [Enrollment1 Wtd. Avg.2 85/6 Ratio3 Wtd. Avg.2 85/6 Ratio3 Wtd. Avg.2 85/6 Ratio3
1985-86 1,328,849 78.9% 79.4% 59.9% 64.6% 35.7% 36.6%
1986-87 1,315,128 1,037,373 1,044,475 787,367 849,573 469,106 480,679
1987-88 1,291,902 1,019,052 1,026,029 773,462 834,569 460,821 472,190
1988-89 1,268,750 1,000,790 1,007,641 759,601 819,613 452,563 463,728
1989-90 1,258,956 993,064 999,863 753,737 813,286 449,070 460,148
1990-91 1,281,506 1,010,852 1,017,772 767,238 827,853 457,113 468,390
1991-92 1,323,966 1,044,344 1,051,494 792,658 855,282 472,259 483,910

SOURCE: Department of Finance, 1986.

1 DOF projections do not include students in ungraded classes (Special Ed.), ROC/ROP, or Adult Ed. Hence total enrollment represents students in
"regular" secondary schools. Hence, this total enrollment does not agree with total enrollment (Table 3) calculated for SIP.
2 Wtd. Avg.=Weighted average of annual enrollment as percent of total secondary enrollment for 1983-84 (x1), 1984-85 (x2), and 1985-86 (x3).

3 1985-86 enrollment as percent of total secondary enrollment.

SEI'IHVL XIClNElchV

I9

62

MATH, SCIENCE, AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION IN CALIFORNIA

APPENDIX TABLE A2

FTEs Needed For Enrollment and Attrition,
Annual and Cumulative, 1985-86 to 1991-92

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lower Bound Upper Bound
MATH
FTEs FTEs FTEs Fl‘Es
Year Needed Remain Read Cum Needed Remain Read Cum
1985-86 6535 6045 6535 6016
1986-87 6404 5923 359 359 6447 5930 431 431
1987-88 6290 5819 367 726 6334 5819 404 835
1988-89 6178 5714 359 1085 6220 5709 401 1236
1989-90 6130 5670 416 1501 6172 5659 463 1699
1990-91 6240 5772 570 2071 6283 5755 623 2322
SCIENCE
FI‘Es FTEs FTES FTEs
Year Needed Remain Read Cum Needed Remain Read Cum
1985-86 5240 4847 5241 4825
1986-87 4807 4446 -40 -40 5187 4770 362 362
1987-88 4722 4368 276 236 5095 4681 325 687
1988-89 4637 4290 270 505 5004 4592 322 1009
1989-90 4602 4256 312 817 4965 4553 373 1382
1990-91 4684 4333 428 1245 5054 4630 502 1884
1991-92 4839 4476 506 1751 5222 4778 592 2476
FOREIGN LANGUAGE
FTES FTEs FTEs FTEs
Year Needed Remain Read Cum Needed Remain Read Cum
1985-86 2970 2747 2970 2734
1986-87 2869 2654 135 135 2940 2704 206 206
1987-88 2818 2607 177 312 2888 2654 184 390
1988-89 2768 2560 174 486 2836 2603 183 573
1989-90 2747 2541 199 685 2814 2580 211 784
1990-91 2796 2586 268 953 2865 2624 284 1068
1991-92 2888 2672 315 1268 2960 2708 336 1404

 

APPENDIX TABLES 6 3

APPENDIX TABLE A2 (Continued)

1. Lower Bound

FTEs Needed is projected using weighted average of enrollment percents for 1983 to 1985
and average of class sizes for subject for 1983 to 1985.

Remain is PTES remaining after attrition, using average of eight years attrition rates from

STRS. 1.2%
FTEs Reed is difference between Fl‘Es needed and "Remain."
Q1111 sums FTEs needed from year to year.

2. Upper Bound

FTEs Needed is projected using 1985/86 percent of total enrollment and average of three
years' class sizes.

Remain is FTEs remaining after loss to attrition. Attrition rate is trend of annual attrition rates,
1977 to 1984, for all members of STRS.

FFE§ Regd is difference between FTEs needed and "Remain."

(gym sums FTEs needed from year to year.

64 MATH, SCIENCE, AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION IN CALIFORNIA

APPENDIX TABLE 3

Private School FTEs Needed For Enrollment and Attrition,
Annual and Cumulative, 1986-87 to 1991-92

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lower Bound Upper Bound
MATH
FTEs F'I‘Es F'I‘Es FTES
Year Needed Remain Reqd Cum Needed Remain Reqd Cum
1986—87 926 856 993 918
1987-88 886 819 29 29 950 879 32 32
1988-89 853 789 34 63 915 847 37 68
1989-90 835 772 45 108 895 828 48 117
1990—91 831 769 59 167 891 824 63 180
1991-92 842 778 73 240 902 835 78 258
SCIENCE
FI‘Es FTEs FTES F'I'Es
Year Needed Remain Read Cum Needed Remain Read Cum
1986-87 753 697 808 747
1987-88 721 667 24 24 773 715 26 26
1988-89 694 642 28 52 745 689 30 56
1989-90 679 628 37 89 728 674 39 95
1990-91 676 626 48 137 725 671 52 147
1991-92 685 633 59 196 734 679 63 210
FOREIGN LANGUAGE
FTEs FTEs FTEs FTEs
Year Needed Remain Read Cum Needed Remain Read Cum
1986-87 427 395 458 423
1987-88 408 378 14 14 438 405 15 15
1988-89 393 364 16 29 422 390 17 31
1989-90 385 356 21 50 413 382 22 54
1990-91 383 354 27 77 411 380 29 83
1991-92 388 359 34 111 416 385 36 119

APPENDIX TABLES 6 5

APPENDIX TABLE A3 (Continued)

1. Lower Bound

Fl'Es Needed is projected using weighted average of enrollment percents for
1983 to 1985 and average of class sizes for subject for 1983 to 1985.

Remain is Fl‘Es remaining after attrition, using average of eight years attrition
rates from STRS. 2.25%

FTE§ Regd is difference between F'I‘Es needed and "Remain."
Qum sums FTES needed from year to year.

2. Upper Bound

FTEs Needed is projected using 1985/86 percent of total enrollment and average
of three years' class sizes.

Remain is FTEs remaining after loss to attrition. Attrition rate is trend of annual
attrition rates, 1977 to 1984 for all members of STRS.

FTEs Regd is difference between FTEs needed and "Remain."
gum sums FTEs needed from year to year.

x *9 (m
mg."

 

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