In A Fair Chance: Simple steps to strengthen and diversify the teacher workforce, NCTQ analysis reveals both astonishingly high numbers of elementary teacher candidates failing their professional licensing tests each year, as well as widespread evidence that teacher preparation programs give scant attention to the content knowledge candidates need.
Candidates of color are hit hardest. Already more likely to be disadvantaged by an inequitable system of K-12 education, only 38 percent of black teacher candidates and 57 percent of Hispanic teacher candidates pass the most widely used licensing test even after multiple attempts, compared to 75 percent of white candidates. If the pass rate for black and Hispanic teacher candidates were comparable to white candidates, the diversity of the new teaching pool would increase by half.
Read the report to explore the full findings and recommendations for higher education leaders and state policy makers.
Visit the Program Action Guide to see steps that prep programs can take, tools to support that process, and examples from real prep programs that have taken action.
Report Appendices:
Appendix B: Estimated number of candidates by state and race/ethnicity who cannot earn a license
Appendix C: Methodology
Appendix D: Support for essential elementary content subjects
Appendix E: First-time pass rates by state
If you are an elementary teacher, elementary teacher candidate, or someone who once tried to become an elementary teacher, we welcome you to share your experiences with your state's licensing test at: https://www.nctq.org/teachervoices/
If you are a leader in higher education, please consider sharing your thoughts with us at: https://www.nctq.org/AFairChanceFeedback/.