Classroom inexperience led expert on teacher distribution quest

By FREDREKA SCHOUTEN
Gannett News Service

WASHINGTON — Richard Ingersoll was teaching social studies at a high school in Delaware in the 1980s when the principal told him his career was about to move in a new direction.

Ingersoll was going to teach algebra as well.

"Look, I can't exactly remember what algebra is," Ingersoll recalled saying.

The principal patted him on the back. "Richard, I know you'll do a good job," he said.

That experience persuaded Ingersoll, now an associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania, to find out how often teachers are assigned to teach subjects they don't know.

It turned out to be an all-too-common scene, particularly at poor and minority schools that have a hard time recruiting teachers who know subjects like math and science.
In the two decades since his brief foray into algebra, he has become a leading expert on teacher qualifications and distribution. He recently completed a book — to be published by the Harvard University Press — on school accountability, and he has written numerous papers on teacher distribution.

He is in demand across the country as a speaker on teacher qualifications and has testified before Congress on that issue.

Based on those credentials, GNS hired Ingersoll to analyze the federal government's most recent and largest survey of principals and teachers.

The U.S. Education Department's Schools and Staffing Survey, released in June, was based on surveys conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau during the 1999-2000 school year. The GNS analysis focused on responses from more than 40,000 teachers and almost 9,000 public school principals.

GNS classified schools based on their populations of poor and minority students.

Schools where at least half the students qualified for federally subsidized meals were designated high poverty. Schools where no more than 15 percent of the students qualified for subsidized meals were classified as low poverty.

In all states except Hawaii and Alaska, children in a family of four would qualify for a reduced-priced lunch if the family income was $33,485 or less. To qualify for a free lunch, the same family would have a maximum income of $27,530.
High-minority schools were those where at least half the students were members of a minority group. Low-minority schools were those where no more than 15 percent of the students were minority.

GNS defined secondary schools as grades 7-12. Middle schools covered grades 5-8, and high school, grades 9-12.
Rather than rely on states' individual definitions of out-of-field teaching, GNS examined what teachers themselves reported. Teachers who responded to the survey described their educational backgrounds - including college majors and minors — and subjects in which they possessed state certification. They also filled out a schedule that detailed what classes they taught each day and how many students attended each class.

That allowed Ingersoll to calculate how many students were taught key academic subjects, like English and math, by teachers who lacked certification or an academic background in the field.

The findings on substitute teachers reported by GNS were based on principals' responses. They were asked how they filled teaching vacancies — not just temporary absences, but positions for which teachers "were recruited and interviewed." More than 30 percent nationwide used substitutes.