Washington, DC, November 5, 2003 - As a way to help state leaders and educators obtain a picture of highly qualified teachers in their states, the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) has released a new publication titled Meeting NCLB Goals for Highly Qualified Teachers: Estimates by State from Survey Data. This new publication presents state-by-state level data on the qualifications of teachers in grades seven through twelve.
States, districts, and schools are now working to implement the many new provisions of NCLB. One area of the law that has enormous implications for states, districts, and schools is the provision related to highly qualified teachers. Since states have some flexibility in meeting the standard for highly qualified teachers, the analysis contained in this publication can be useful as a common benchmark for use by states as they develop their own definitions and measures.
CCSSO has completed this detailed analysis of data reported by teachers in the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS). SASS is conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) of the U.S. Department of Education. The CCSSO analysis is based on data from the surveys with teachers conducted in the 1999-2000 school year and data from the 1993-1994 survey. The 50-state results from the SASS of 1994 and 2000 show the percentage of teachers in each state that are fully certified and have a major in their assigned field. Through this report, states are able to compare their state statistics with states across the nation.
This new publication is available from CCSSO publications at www.ccsso.org/publications.
The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) is a nationwide, nonprofit organization of public officials who head departments of elementary and secondary education in the states, the District of Columbia, the Department of Defense Education Activity, and five U.S. extra-state jurisdictions. CCSSO provides leadership, advocacy, and technical assistance on major educational issues. The Council seeks members' consensus on major educational issues and expresses their views to civic and professional organizations, federal agencies, Congress, and the public.
