New teachers teaching in U.S. classrooms are more academically qualified compared to a decade ago, according to a new report by the Educational Testing Service (ETS).

The study found that prospective teachers who took state Praxis exams for teacher licensure from 2002–2005 had higher SAT scores in high school and better grade point averages in college compared to their peers who took the Praxis tests from 1994–1997.

The report attributes the positive trend to a period of unprecedented policy changes focused on issues of teacher quality.

"This is a good-news report," said Drew Gitomer, an ETS distinguished researcher who authored the study. Gitomer released the study's findings at a December 12 press conference in Washington, D.C.

Teacher Quality in a Changing Policy Landscape: Improvements in the Teacher Pool connects the confluence of policy changes at the state, federal, and institutional levels to improvements in teacher candidates’ academic qualifications.

While changes cannot be credited to any one policy effort, the report contends that the following changes have yielded the greatest impact:

• Increased accountability of teacher education programs to report teacher candidates' test scores;
• Greater focus on ensuring that all teachers are qualified. The No Child Left Behind mandate for highly qualified teachers requires teachers be licensed and show competence in their subject area;
• Increased requirements for entry into teacher education programs;
• Improved teacher quality requirements for accreditation; and
• Rapid expansion of alternate pathways into teaching.

 “The noted improvements in academic characteristics of prospective educators over the past 10 years are not random phenomena,” observed Sharon Robinson, president and CEO of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. “These changes result from public policy and professional practices aimed at producing the very high capabilities we require in the nation’s schools. This study from ETS should inspire optimism and encourage all of us to recommit to the goal of providing every student with caring and competent teachers in schools organized for success.” Congressman George Miller (D-California), chair of the House Education and Labor Committee, added that efforts should continue to attract highly qualified prospective teachers.

Although most of the study’s results are encouraging, Gitomer warned that more work needs to be done.

“One of the sobering findings of the report is that the teacher candidate pool is no more diverse that it was a decade ago,” Gitomer explained. “Females continue to make up three-quarters of the candidate pool, which is overwhelmingly white. The lack of language diversity continues. Still, this report demonstrates beyond a doubt that change is possible when we focus our collective efforts and resources on a common objective. It’s up to us to determine what that next objective will be.”

For more information, visit www.ets.org/teacherqualityreport.