What Criteria Are Used in Considering
(NCES 96-844) Ordering Information
Discussions in recent years have reviewed professional
standards for teachers (e.g., Boe and Gilford 1992) and
state-directed procedures for teacher licensure (e.g., Wagner
1990). Performance-based assessments for new teachers have
also been the subject of much recent interest and development
activity; for example, the Educational Testing Service is
currently creating new performance-based assessments to
replace the National Teachers Examination (e.g., Choy et al.
In considering current practices and proposals designed to
ensure quality teaching, the criteria used by school districts to
consider or screen teacher applicants become important. Data
available from the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS),
conducted by the
(NCES), permit a review of these criteria and any changes in
their use over time. In 198788 and again in 199091, SASS
provided public school districts with a list of eight specific
criteria that might be used in considering applicants for
teaching positions.* For each item listed, school district
respondents were asked to indicate whether it was required of
teacher candidates, used in considering applicants but not
required, or not used at all in the process of considering
applicants. This brief focuses on the criteria public school
districts reported requiring when considering teacher
When considering applicants for teaching positions,
public school districts required specific nontest
indicators of teacher qualifications more frequently than
they did passage of specific tests.
In 198788 and in 199091, public school districts more
frequently reported requiring certification and educational
credentials than passage of basic-skills or subject-knowledge
tests in the teacher hiring process (table 1). In both years, the
greatest percentages of these districts required full standard
state certification in the field to be taught (approximately 84
percent). Graduation from state-approved programs,
emergency or temporary certification, and in-field college degrees in the teaching field were each more frequently
required than was the passage of any of the four tests listed.
Percentages of public school districts requiring passage
of national and state subject-knowledge or basic-skills
tests increased from 198788 to 199091.
In 198788, about 35 percent of public school districts
required teacher applicants to have passed a state test of
basic skills, but by 199091, this percentage increased to
approximately 42 percent (table 1
). In addition, more public
school districts required state tests or the National Teachers
Examination (NTE) in 199091 than did public school districts
in 198788. About 24 percent of districts required passage of a
state test of subject knowledge in 198788, compared to
approximately 34 percent in 199091. There was little change
during these years in the numbers of public school districts
requiring passage of district tests of basic skills or subject
Among the selected tests reported as required in the
teacher hiring process, public school districts required
state tests of basic skills more frequently than other
district, state, and national tests.
In 199091, for example, about 42 percent of public school
districts required passage of state tests of basic skills,
making this type of test the most frequently required in the
teacher hiring process (table 1
). State tests of subject
knowledge also were required more frequently than district
tests or the NTE in 199091. State subject-knowledge tests
were more frequently required than district tests in 198788,
although state subject-knowledge tests were required about as
frequently as the NTE in that year. In both 198788 and 1990
91, district tests of basic skills and subject knowledge were the
least often required of these four tests.
In 199091, public school districts in different regions of
the country reported different test requirements for
In general, districts in the South more frequently required
state tests in their teacher hiring processes than did other
regions of the country (table 2
). For example, about 61 percent
of districts in the South required passage of state tests of
subject knowledge, whereas about one-quarter of districts in
each of the other three regions required these tests.
the South and the West differed distinctly from districts in the
Northeast and Midwest regions in their required passage of
state tests of basic skills. Districts in the Northeast region more
frequently required passage of the NTE than did districts in the
other three regions, while Midwest districts required passage of
the NTE least often in their consideration of new hires.
These data show that nontest indicators of teacher quality
played a more important role in the teacher hiring process
in public school districts in 198788 and in 199091 than did
test indicators. However, while the use of nontest indicators
remained fairly constant, the use of test indicators increased.
The increase in the use of test indicators likely reflects the
concern and attention being paid to upgrading professional
standards for teachers. With the 199394 SASS data now
available, it will be important to update these trends in the use
of test and nontest criteria in considering teacher applicants.
These findings raise a number of questions that can be
explored further using SASS data. For example, how many and
what types of districts consider multiple criteria in the teacher
hiring process, and have these districts changed the mix of
criteria they use over time? Under what circumstances do
districts make greater use of emergency or temporary state
certificatione.g., when they are experiencing teacher
shortages? The revised NTE will include major performance
components requiring teachers to demonstrate teaching
practice skills. How will this revision be received? Will it
affect district use of the NTE? These findings also raise
questions that reach beyond SASS data; for example, does the
size of the available pool of prospective teachers have an effect
on the mix of screening criteria used within a district? Why do
districts in the South rely on tests more frequently than districts
in other regions of the country? To what extent do district and
state tests currently include performance-based components
such as those included in the new version of the NTE? What
other processes do school districts use to select new teachers
(e.g., temporary or substitute teachers)?
*/ In 198788, these eight criteria were evaluated by respondents in
terms of screening teacher applicants; in 199091, they were
evaluated in terms of their use in considering teacher applicants.
References and Related Publications:
Boe, E.E and Gilford, M. (Eds.) (1992). Teacher Supply, Demand, and Quality:
Policy Issues, Models, and Data Bases. Washington, D.C.: National Academy
Choy, S.P., Medrich, E.A., Henke, R.R., and Bobbitt, S.A. (1992). Schools and
Staffing in the United States: A Statistical Profile, 198788. Washington, D.C.:
U.S. Department of Education, (NCES
Report No. 92120).
Choy, S.P., Bobbitt, S.A., Henke, R.R., Medrich, E.A., Horn, L.J., and Lieberman, J.
(1993a). Americas Teachers: Profile of a Profession. Washington, D.C.: U.S.
Department of Education, (NCES
Report No. 93025).
Choy, S.P., Henke, R.R., Alt, M.N., Medrich, E.A., and Bobbitt, S.A. (1993b).
Schools and Staffing in the United States: A Statistical Profile, 199091.
Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education
Statistics (NCES Report No. 93146).
Wagner, L.A. (1990). "Starting a Career in the Classroom: Emerging Public Policy
Issues in the Support and Assessment of New Classroom Teachers." In S.B.
Bacharach (Ed.), Education Reform: Making Sense of It All. Boston: Allyn and
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