State and Local Implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act; Volume II--Teacher Quality Under NCLB: Interim Report

Author: Birman, B.F., Le Floch, K.C., Klekotka, A., Ludwig, M., Taylor, J., Walters, K., Wayne, A., Yoon, K.
Publisher: U.S. Department of Education
Publication Date: 2007
Full text available online at: http://www.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/teaching/nclb/index.html

Abstract

Under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), states must set standards for teachers to be considered “highly qualified” and require school districts to notify parents if a teacher does not meet this standard. In general, this study found that states and districts are working to implement and comply with the NCLB requirements for teacher qualifications. Specific findings include the following:

1. States have set guidelines for highly qualified teachers under NCLB and have been updating their data systems.
   
   
2. Most teachers met their states’ requirements to be considered highly qualified under NCLB, and over half of paraprofessionals have been designated as qualified.
   
   
3. The following categories of teachers have a lower-than-average percentage of highly qualified teachers: special education teachers, teachers of English learners, middle school teachers, teachers in high-poverty schools, and teachers in high-minority schools.
   
   
4. Teachers participate in many hours of formal and informal professional development.
   
   
5. A relatively small proportion of teachers participated over an extended period of time in content-focused professional development related to teaching reading or mathematics.