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Contentious debate on reauthorizing the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) has begun and the battle lines are drawn.  For the next few months, and maybe years, the debate will rage on testing, sanctions, spending, achievement gaps and how to label failing schools. Meanwhile, the debate on one of the most pressing issues—a rapidly increasing shortage of teachers—remains relatively silent. Even in crisis areas like post-Katrina Louisiana that suffer from crippling teacher shortages, education leaders are slow to fully leverage ways to recruit new teachers.

As is always the case in education battles, it is the students who suffer.  There are 3.2 million K-12 teachers in America, and the U.S. Department of Education reports “only” 2.5 percent are teaching on emergency waivers.  That sounds small, but it actually leaves 80,000 classrooms and at least 1.2 million students nationwide without a certified teacher.  The news for Louisiana and the rest of America is only going to get worse, eventually impacting our ability to compete in the global economy.

Consider the facts from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES): In 1970, 25 percent of bachelors and masters degrees were earned in education compared to 14 percent in 2003. Further, in 2004, 8.4 percent of educators left teaching compared to 5.6 percent in 1990.  College students today are not going into teaching while at the same time, the baby-boomer teachers are retiring in record numbers.

The education establishment blames low teacher retention for the shortages.  We all want teachers to stay in the classroom longer, but improving retention is by no means an absolute solution to the teacher shortage.  Retention rates in all careers are declining. Today’s workforce is made up of career changers.  According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 18-40 year olds will switch jobs more than 10 times, with 55 percent of those switches being complete career changes.  We cannot expect that teaching will be the one career to defy this societal shift.  The education establishment should harness the reality of the career changer society in which we live and utilize new and innovative methods to recruit talented mid-career professionals into the classroom.

While states are quick to accept emergency-certified teachers and recruit teachers from overseas, they are hesitant to accept new certification routes that would attract career changers into the classroom.  School districts need to understand that they are competing with all businesses for talent.  Having only one or two routes to teacher certification will not produce the quantity or quality of teachers that students deserve. 

The data on alternative routes to certification demonstrates that these teachers are effective. A study by the North Central Research Education Laboratory found that 74 percent of principals rated their alternatively-certified teachers as equal to or better than other new hires and that number rises to 95% for career changers coming through the ABCTE program.  But even with solid research, states still mandate unnecessary barriers to certification, leaving thousands of classrooms without a teacher each fall. 

Students will suffer today, but businesses will suffer tomorrow, especially in math and science.  NCES reports that 21 percent of high school and 65 percent of middle school mathematics teachers do not have a degree in math. Even worse, 45 percent of high school and 86 percent of middle school physical science teachers do not have a degree in science.  Basic economics tells us that increasing the supply of teachers will also lead to higher quality as principals have more applicants to choose from.  How can we remain a competitive nation if our students aren’t mastering critical subjects like economics from knowledgeable teachers?

There are successful programs available today that can take on the most critical shortage in our schools.  While we wait for people to act, we will watch our teacher shortage grow, our teacher quality decrease, and see America’s competitiveness drop.   It is time for state leaders to step up and take advantage of programs that can help them solve this shortage.

Dave Saba is the President of the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence, located in Washington, D.C.