C. Emily Feistritzer, National Center for Education Information
June 2005
This useful report from the National Center for Education Information surveyed 2,647 teachers certified through "alternate routes." We learn that almost one-third (35,000) of entering or first-time teachers were certified through such programs this year. Fifty percent of respondents reported teaching in a large urban area, and almost half (47 percent) came into education from careers in other fields. More than half (54 percent) note they probably would not have become teachers without the option of an "alternate route." In other words, they would not have returned to campus to acquire an education degree. Also encouraging: almost two-thirds of them plan to continue teaching K-12 for at least five years. The complete findings paint a picture of alternatively certified teachers substantially different from the caricatures of opponents. So check them out for yourself here.
"New teachers take alternative routes," by George Archibald, Washington Times, June 3, 2005