Certification Status and Experience of U.S. Public School Teachers: Variations across Student Subgroups. NCES 2017-056

This report provides a snapshot of the extent to which U.S. public school students are taught by certified and experienced teachers. The report uses two datasets available to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES): the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) and the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). SASS provides a comprehensive picture, as it includes teachers of K-12 students in all subjects. NAEP provides a picture specific to grades 4 and 8. In addition, NAEP data are directly related to teachers of two key subjects: reading and mathematics. SASS data are available for the 2011-12 school year and NAEP data are available for 2013 and 2015. The report presents the percentage of U.S. public school students who are taught by teachers with state certification, by teachers with more than 5 years of experience, and by teachers with a postsecondary degree in the subject in which they teach by various school and student characteristics. Taken together, the information from SASS and NAEP illustrates that access to teachers with certification and other qualifications varies among students in different demographic groups, in different school settings, and in different states and large urban school districts. The following are appended: (1) Chapter 2 Data Tables; and (2) Chapter 3 Data Tables. Technical Notes are included.