Status of the American Public School Teacher 2000-2001

America’s public school teachers are the best educated, most experienced ever.

• They have many years of experience.  Nearly half of all public school teachers (49 percent) have been in the classroom 15 years or longer; more than one-third (38 percent) have 20 years or more of classroom experience.
  
  
• The majority of teachers hold one or more advanced degrees.  More than half (56 percent) hold master’s degrees or diplomas based on six years of college study.  The percentage of teachers with a master’s degree has more than doubled since 1961.  Less than half of public school teachers (43 percent) hold only a bachelor’s degree – the smallest percentage in the 40-year history of the survey.
  
  
• National Board Certification is catching on.  Five percent of teachers have been certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, and another four percent are currently working to achieve board certification. 
  
  
• Public school teachers are highly skilled in the subjects they teach.  The survey asked teachers what percentage of teaching time each week is spent teaching grades or subjects outside the field of their teaching license.  Nine out of 10 teachers (90 percent) reported that they spent no time teaching grades or subjects outside their teaching license.
  

The work of teachers is being transformed.

• Teachers want to learn new skills and sharpen the ones they’ve already developed.   More than 75 percent of all teachers participated in professional development related to their grade or subject area, using technology in the classroom, and curriculum development.  And more than one-third (35 percent) – an all-time high – say they participated in system-sponsored professional development during the summer.
  
  
• Teachers are enriching their lessons through the use of technology.  For teachers with access to school computers, 73 percent say they use the computer regularly for instructional purposes, and 59 percent use the Web to enhance classroom lessons.
  
  
• Teachers are active participants in school reform.  For the first time, the survey explored the alignment between standards set by the state or district and teachers’ instructional practices.  More than half of teachers (59 percent) reported their instructional practices were now aligned to state or district standards.
  

Teachers in America’s public schools are dedicated to teaching and committed to their students.

• They become teachers – and remain teachers – to help shape the next generation.   Nearly 3 out of 4 (73 percent) entered teaching because of their desire to work with young people.  And 68 percent gave this reason for remaining in the profession.  In the report’s 40-year history, this remains the leading reason for beginning, and continuing, to teach.
  
  
• Teachers put the needs of their students first.  Teachers are digging more deeply into their own pockets – averaging hundreds of dollars each school year – to purchase classroom supplies.  This survey finds teachers spending an average of $443 for books and materials.  Eight percent reported spending more than $1,000 each year to meet the needs of their students.  Elementary teachers spent more than those at the secondary level ($498 vs. $386).
  

While there is much encouraging news in this report, the survey also spotlights important areas we must address and correct.

• Low salaries are by far the primary reason cited by individuals for not remaining in teaching until retirement.  More than one-third of teachers (37 percent) who do not plan to teach until retirement blame low pay for their decision to quit teaching.  The percentages are even greater for minority teachers (50 percent); for male teachers (43 percent); and for teachers under 30 (47 percent).
  
  
  
• The teaching corps in public schools does not reflect the diversity of the student population.  Our students need role models of both sexes and all races, yet the teaching profession is overwhelmingly white (90 percent) and female (79 percent).  The percentage of African-American teachers is at an all-time low (6 percent).  The numbers remain flat for Hispanics, Asians and teachers from other ethnic groups.     
  
  
• Male teachers are a dwindling breed.  Since 1981, the ratio of male to female teachers has steadily declined, and it now stands at a 40-year low (21 percent).  Similarly, the proportion of male elementary teachers (9 percent) and male secondary teachers (35 percent) has fallen gradually since 1961 and now is at the lowest level in four decades.
  

What makes this survey different from all the others?

• It is the only survey of its kind.  Since 1961, Status of the American Public School Teacher has provided continuing data on the professional and personal characteristics of America’s public school teachers, the current status of their teaching conditions, and their attitudes toward the profession.
  
  
• It has a 40-year history.  Its reputation is established.  It is the only statistically reliable survey that tracks trends and provides a portrait of the teaching profession over time.  Its response rate, about 68 percent, is exceptionally high.  The survey questionnaire was sent to a representative sample of the nation’s public school teachers – not only NEA members.