Recruiting
Community
College Transfers
to Address the
American Teaching
Shortage in STEM
Fields
David A. Byrd,
Director of Recruitment
Agenda
• Review of Literature
• Statistical Analysis of Transfer
Performance
• Demonstrated Recruitment
Efforts
• Case Study for Collaboration
“If the United States is to maintain a
competitive edge in the present era of the
‘global economy,’ an educated workforce
is more important than at any other time
in our history” (Hagedorn & Tierney, 2002,
p. 2).
“… Participation and degree attainment
rates have leveled off and are showing
sighs of decline – seemingly more than
just a bump or short-term market
correction … we find these disparities are
growing” (Douglass, 2006, p. 3).
In 2004, China had six times the number
of college graduates in engineering as the
United States” and “India and China
produced approximately one million
engineering graduates a year, with the
U.S. and Europe producing only 170,000
combined” (Douglass, 2006, p. 7).
“Of the articles in the world’s top physics
journals published in 1983, 61% were
authored by scholars in American
Universities; in 2003 that proportion
dropped to 29%” (p. 7).
The truth is, we’re in a crisis now, but it is
a crisis that is unfolding very quietly.
We’re a bit like a person who is sleeping
on an air mattress, and the air is coming
out – so slowly you barely feel it, until
your head hits the cement. By then it’s
really hard to reinflate the mattress”
(Friedman, 2007, p. 340).
So, what is causing our mattress to
deflate?
Thomas Friedman’s Dirty Little
Secrets:
(1) Numbers Gap
(2) Education Gap (at Top)
(3) Ambition Gap
(4) Education Gap (at Bottom)
(5) Funding Gap
(6) Infrastructure Gap
(Friedman, 2007, pp. 337-365)
“The United States faces a shortage of
283,000 secondary math and science
teachers by 2015” (BHEF, 2006).
Physics departments are not actively
engaged in recruiting physics teachers,
and few have partnerships with schools of
education. (Physics Teacher Education
Coalition, 2010).
54% of schools surveyed by Ingersoll
(2003) reported having vacancies in Math
in 2000 and 42% reported having difficulty
hiring Science teachers.
Projected Need for Secondary Math Teachers in Texas
12,000
# Teachers
10,000
8,000
6,000
4,000
2,000
0
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Supply
Source: Dr. Ed Fuller (2009)
Demand
Projected Need for Secondary Science Teachers in Texas
12,000
# Teachers
10,000
8,000
6,000
4,000
2,000
0
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Supply
Source: Dr. Ed Fuller (2009)
Demand
Salary for Teachers Compared to Other STEM Fields
$100,000
All Secondary
STEM
Teachers
(Total Salary)
$90,000
$80,000
Computer and
Mathematical
Occupations
Avg Salary
$70,000
$60,000
$50,000
Architecture
and
Engineering
Occupations
$40,000
$30,000
Engineering
Occupations
Only
$20,000
$10,000
$0
2000
2007
Year
Source: Dr. Ed Fuller (2009)
Number of Middle-School Teachers Assigned Out-of-Field
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Mathematics
Source: Dr. Ed Fuller (2009)
Science
Number of High School Teachers Assigned Out-of-Field
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Mathematics
Source: Dr. Ed Fuller (2009)
Science
Percentage of Secondary Math Teachers
Assigned Out-of-Field by Poverty Level
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
2003
2004
2005
Low-Poverty
Source: Dr. Ed Fuller (2009)
2006
2007
High-Poverty
2008
Percentage of Secondary Science Teachers
Assigned Out-of-Field by Poverty Level
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
2003
2004
2005
Low-Poverty
Source: Dr. Ed Fuller (2009)
2006
2007
High-Poverty
2008
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Permit
Cert by Exam
Out-of-State
Alternative
Post Bacc
Traditional
19
95
19
96
19
97
19
98
19
99
20
00
20
01
20
02
20
03
20
04
20
05
20
06
20
07
% Teachers Certified
Production of Secondary Science Teachers by Route
Spring of Academic Year
Source: Dr. Ed Fuller (2009)
Production of Math and Science Teachers by Route
Program Type and
Certification Route
Univ Traditional
Mathematics
2002
2008
Science
CHG
34.4% 21.7% -12.7
2002
2008
CHG
19.1%
9.9%
-9.2
Univ Post-Bacc
1.8%
2.7%
0.9
2.6%
3.9%
1.3
Univ ACP
7.2%
6.4%
-0.8
10.9%
8.3%
-2.6
District ACP
2.7%
3.1%
0.4
2.9%
4.1%
1.2
District ACP Permit
3.2%
0.1%
-3.1
3.0%
0.2%
-2.8
Region ESC ACP
7.1%
5.6%
-1.5
8.1%
10.1%
2.0
Comm College ACP
2.8%
2.2%
-0.5
1.7%
3.2%
1.5
Private ACP
1.9% 23.1%
21.2
3.3%
30.4%
27.1
16.7% 12.7%
-4.0
18.6%
13.9%
-4.7
6.3% 21.3%
15.0
12.7%
15.2%
2.4
1.1% -14.8
17.1%
0.8%
-16.2
Out-of-State
Cert-by-Exam
Permit
15.9%
Source: Dr. Ed Fuller (2009)
First-time Pass Rate of the
TExES Certification Exam in 2008
FIRST-TIME TEST-TAKERS
Prep Program
Type
Mathematics
MS
HS
Science
MS
HS
University
74.8% 63.9% 63.1% 50.3%
District ACP
70.8% 62.4% 65.3% 51.5%
Region ESC ACP
74.0% 62.6% 66.4% 57.0%
Comm College ACP 69.5% 62.1% 63.6% 53.1%
Private ACP
59.7% 53.7% 54.3% 42.1%
Total
70.2% 61.1% 61.5% 49.1%
Source: Dr. Ed Fuller (2009)
Last-time Pass Rate of the
TExES Certification Exam in 2008
LAST-TIME TEST-TAKERS
Prep Program
Type
Mathematics
MS
HS
Science
MS
HS
University
89.8% 83.4% 81.7% 69.6%
District ACP
87.6% 78.9% 81.7% 82.9%
Region ESC ACP
88.3% 82.1% 87.1% 77.9%
Comm College
ACP
84.4% 79.2% 81.5% 72.8%
Private ACP
71.5% 69.1% 68.1% 59.9%
Total
84.4% 79.2% 78.9% 68.8%
Source: Dr. Ed Fuller (2009)
Three-year Attrition Rates for Teachers
by Program and Route
Univ Traditional
Science
Univ Post-Bacc
Math
Univ ACP
District ACP
Region ESC ACP
Comm College ACP
Private ACP
Permit
Out-of-State
Cert-by-Exam
0.0
Source: Dr. Ed Fuller (2009)
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
Rising Above the Gathering Storm (2007)
• 2/3 of America’s K-12 teachers are expected to retire
in the next decade – requiring schools to fill between
1.7 million and 2.7 million vacancies.
• 200,000 new Secondary Math and Secondary
Science teachers will need to be hired in the next
decade.
• Recommends the hiring of 10,000 new teachers
annually to educate 10 million minds.
• Improve the skills of 250,000 teachers through
continuing education programs.
How Can Community Colleges Solve the Problem?
• America faces a critical shortage of teachers of color
willing to work in our most challenging schools
(Lewis, et al., 2008).
• Community college enrollments continue to rise –
especially for college students of color (Cohen &
Brawer, 2008).
• Within the CEHD at Texas A&M, transfer students
were found to not suffer transfer shock and were
more likely to complete the undergraduate degree on
time (CEHD, 2010).
Statistical Analysis of Transfers in the
TAMU Teacher Education Program
2009-2010 Academic Year Transfer Cohort GPA
Student Type
All Students in Cohort
Under-Represented Students in Cohort
Previous
Institution GPA
3.1236
3.1409
TAMU Firstsemester GPA
3.3492
3.32
2009-2010 Academic Year Transfer Cohort t Test Analysis
Dependent Variables
Previous GPA - First-Semester GPA
Source: CEHD, 2010
t
-4.601
df
156
Texas A&M University
• First Public University in
Texas (1876)
• Tier I Research Institution
with an enrollment of ~49,000
• Top 10 endowment valued at
over $5 billion
• One of the highest retention
rates for under-represented
populations in Texas and US
College of Education & Human Development
• Recently Celebrated its 40th
Anniversary
• Fifth largest undergraduate
program at Texas A&M (n=3,822)
• US News (2009) ranked CEHD
47th among all professional
schools of education and 34th
among all public institutions
• Largest producer of teachers for
the high need fields of Math,
Science, and Bilingual Education
in Texas
Summer Transfer Workshops
• Provides information sessions
for community college students
to receive information necessary
to successfully matriculate to the
four-year university.
• Includes Admissions, Financial
Aid, and Academic Advising.
• Numbers are restricted to no
more than 20 students per
workshop.
CEHD Ambassador Program
• Current students serve as
ambassadors.
• Students visit area
community colleges to
represent teaching as a
career.
• Ambassadors host
students who visit campus.
• Ambassadors assist by
making matriculation calls
to welcome new admits..
Quantitative Tracking and Database
Management
• Prospective Student Data
Cards are collected at all
recruitment events and from
all campus visitors.
• Identify programs that were
successful and pipeline
schools to maximize
resources.
• Share data with offices on
campus to maximize efforts.
Partner with School Organizations
• Visit with Future Teacher Classes
and Organizations on community
college campuses.
• Organizations provide logistical
opportunities to speak to groups
when visiting campuses and
provide identification opportunities
of talented students.
Web-based Recruitment
http://educate.tamu.edu
• During the 2009-2010 academic
year, 8,774 (70.06% new visits)
people had viewed the
http://educate.tamu.edu website
• Use Google Analytics to analyze
web performance.
Transfer Articulation Program (TAP)
• Signed Articulation
Agreements with community
college in large urban
environments.
• Formulated by Dr. Robert
Gates in 2005 when he was
President of Texas A&M
University.
• Guarantees automatic
transfer admission for
students who complete
prescribed courses with a
minimum 3.0 GPA.
Campus Visit Programs
• Community College classes and
organizations were hosted on
campus throughout the year.
• Each visit included interactive
programs on teacher education,
admissions and financial aid
presentations, a campus tour, and
lunch with current CEHD students
• Between 5-600 students visit the
college through these programs
annually.
aggieTEACH Program
• Collaborative effort between the
College of Science and College of
Education & Human Development
to recruit and prepare
undergraduate students for
Secondary Math or Science
teaching.
• Scholarships provided through the
Sid Richardson Foundation, the
National Science Foundation, and
the Robert Noyce Foundation.
aggieTEACH Testimonials
"TEFB 201 helped me realize how much I wanted to be a
teacher. I was getting my certification more as a back up. After
going through that class and some of my other education
classes, I realized I had a passion for teaching and decided to
make it my career.”
- Melissa Matula, aggieTEACH student
"I had an interview with Madison High School in San Antonio
and they literally chased me out into the parking lot to offer me a
job after the interview. It was my top choice of where I wanted
to be and I am so excited. I'm going to be teaching Biology … It
is going to be amazing!”
- Janeen Kellogg, aggieTEACH student
Notable Accomplishments
• Recognized by the Texas Education Agency as the
only university to increase production of Math,
Science, Special Education, and Bilingual Education
graduates over a five year period in 2008.
• Grown to become the largest producer of Math,
Science, and Bilingual Education teachers in Texas.
• 98% first-time pass rate of state certification exam.
• 84% retention rate of teachers five years after
graduation.
• 92% five-year retention rate for teachers prepared to
work in “urban” schools.
Thank you for attending.
Questions? Comments? Concerns?
References
Business Higher Education Forum. (2006). BHEF 2006 issue brief. Retrieved on July 19, 2010 from:
http://www.bhef.com/publications/documents/brief3_s06.pdf
CEHD. (2010). Transfer Students GPR Comparison 2009-2010. College Station, TX: Texas A&M University,
College of Education and Human Development.
Cohen, A. M., & Brawer, F. B. (2008). The American community college (5th ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Committee on Prospering in the Global Economy of the 21st Century. (2005, October). Rising above the
gathering storm: Energizing and employing America for a brighter economic future (ISBN: 0-309-65442-4).
Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
Douglass, J. A. (2006). The waning of America’s higher education advantage: International competitors are no
longer number two and have big plans in the global economy. Research & Occasional Paper Series,
University of California Berkeley, 1-22.
Friedman, T. L. (2007). The world is flat: A brief history of the twenty-first century. New York: Picador/Farrar,
Straus and Giroux.
Fuller, E. (2009, February). Secondary mathematics and science teachers in Texas: Supply, demand, and
quality. Presentation form the University Council for Educational Administration. Austin, TX: The University
of Texas at Austin.
Hagedorn, L. S. & Tierney, W. G. (2002). Introduction: Cultural capital and the struggle for educational equity.
In L. S. Hagedorn & W. G. Tierney (Eds.), Increasing Access to College: Extending Possibilities for All
Students (pp. 1-8). Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
Ingersoll, R. M. (2003, September). Is there really a teacher shortage? Seattle, WA: Center for the Study of
Teaching and Policy.
Physics Teacher Education Coalition. (2010, February). National task force on teacher education in physics:
Report synopsis. Retrieved on July 19, 2010 from: http://www.compadre.org/ptec/webdocs/TaskForce.cfm
Snyder, M. (2010). The middle class in America is radically shrinking. Retrieved on July 26, 2010 from:
http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/the-u.s.-middle-class-is-being-wiped-out-here%27s-the-stats-to-prove-it520657.html?tickers=^DJI,^GSPC,SPY,MCD,WMT,XRT,DIA