How Much Formal Training Do Teachers Get?

Why is this question important? Formal education is an important measure of training in the broad range of skills required of effective teachers.  It is also an indicator of the dedication and standard of knowledge demanded of teaching staff, as well as support for training provided by education organizations, including school districts.

See further discussion below.

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Sources: Digest of Education Statistics (2008) , Table 69 , National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Institute for Education Sciences (IES), U.S. Department of Education.

Results: Between1961 and 2001, there has been a large increase in the percent of teachers earning Master’s degrees, exceeding the percent with Bachelor’s degrees beginning in 1986. Teachers with less than Bachelor’s degrees virtually disappeared between 1961 and 1981. Less than 1% of teachers earned Doctorates over the time period, except for a jump to 1.7% in 1996 only.

Implications: Educational standards or support for formal education for teachers (or both) have increased dramatically between 1961 and 2001. By 2001, approximately 56% of teachers held Master’s degrees versus 42% with Bachelor’s degrees. While advanced training can be helpful in developing teachers’ skills, the important questions are whether this additional training has improved teachers’ ability to teach and students’ learning. As seen in National Student Math Trends  and Reading Trends , average test scores have not significantly improved during this period of increased teacher training.

Authors: National Center for Educational Statistics, Institute for Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education

Publishers: National Center for Educational Statistics, Institute for Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education

Study Description: The analysis collects school teacher earned degree data obtained from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Digest of Education Statistics (2008).  The percent of teachers earning a particular educational degree were reviewed between 1961 and 2001.