Newly hired teachers made up 14 percent of all teachers in the 2007–08 school year. Eight percent of all teachers transferred from another school system and 3 percent of all teachers came directly into teaching after finishing training.
In the 2007–08 school year there were approximately 3.7 million teachers (includes full- and part-time teachers), of which close to 3.2 million were continuing teachers and 516,500 were newly hired teachers (teachers who had not taught in their current school in the previous year) (see table A-28-1). Although this represented an increase from the 450,500 newly hired teachers who were employed in 1999–2000, these teachers made up the same percentage of all teachers (14 percent) in both years. Over half (277,300) of newly hired teachers were teachers who had transferred from another school system; 97,500 teachers came directly into teaching after finishing training, 66,500 teachers had delayed their entry into teaching after completing training, and 75,200 had taught in the past and were reentering the profession. About three-quarters of newly hired teachers were female in 2007–08, a percentage similar to that of continuing teachers and not measurably different from the percentage in 1999–2000. In 2007–08, the average age of newly hired teachers who went directly into teaching (27 years) was lower than that of continuing teachers (44 years) and that of newly hired teachers who delayed entry (33 years), reentered the profession (40 years), or transferred school systems (38 years). In 2007–08, the average ages of teachers across all categories were generally similar to the average ages in 1999–2000.
In 2007–08, although 1 percent each of continuing teachers and newly hired teachers had a doctoral or first-professional degree as their highest degree earned, a higher percentage of continuing teachers than newly hired teachers had an education specialist or professional diploma (6 vs. 4 percent) or a master's degree (44 vs. 31 percent) as their highest degree earned. Among newly hired teachers, a higher percentage of reentering teachers (35 percent) and transferring teachers (38 percent) had master's degrees as their highest degree earned than did direct-entry and delayed-entry teachers (15 and 22 percent, respectively).
In 2007–08, a higher percentage of continuing teachers held a regular teaching certificate (86 percent) than did newly hired teachers in each of the four career paths. Among newly hired teachers, a higher percentage of those transferring (78 percent) or reentering the profession (56 percent) held a regular teaching certificate compared with delayed-entry newly hired teachers (25 percent). In 2007–08, about 6 percent of continuing teachers, 6 percent of transferring teachers, and 8 percent of direct-entry teachers did not hold a certification in the state where they taught; these percentages were lower than the 28 percent of delayed-entry teachers and 19 percent of reentry teachers who were not certified. Although the percentage of direct-entry teachers who had a regular certification did not measurably change from 1999–2000 to 2007–08, the percentage with no certification was lower in 2007–08 (8 percent) than in 1999–2000 (19 percent). A higher percentage of direct-entry teachers held some sort of temporary or waiver/emergency certification in 2007–08 (14 percent and 6 percent, respectively) than in 1999–2000 (3 and 2 percent, respectively).
A higher percentage of newly hired teachers than continuing teachers were employed by private schools (15 vs. 12 percent) in the 2007–08 school year. However, this percentage differed across the categories of newly hired teachers: larger percentages of teachers who delayed entry (25 percent) and who reentered the profession (31 percent) taught at private schools, compared with those who entered the field directly (10 percent) and those who transferred schools (10 percent).
Technical Notes
The regular certification category includes regular or standard state certificates and advanced professional certificates (for both public and private school teachers), as well as full certificates granted by an accrediting or certifying body other than the state (for private school teachers only). Probationary certificates are for those who have satisfied all requirements except the completion of a probationary period. Temporary certificates are for those who require additional college coursework and/or student teaching. Waivers or emergency certificates are for those with insufficient teacher preparation who must complete a regular certification program in order to continue teaching. No certification indicates that the teacher did not hold any certification in the state where they had taught. For more information on the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), see supplemental note 3.
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