Almost half of California’s potential teachers quit the profession before they even start because they can't pass one or more of the tests required for them to earn a credential, making it more difficult for the state to put a dent in a persistent teacher shortage.
Linda Darling-Hammond, chair of teacher credentialing commission, calls the state assessment out of date and not a good predictor of classroom performance.
The current era of discipline reform in California is putting greater emphasis on an aspect of teaching that has long gotten the short shrift in teacher credentialing programs.
Amid the state's teacher shortage, California issued more than 10,200 intern credentials, permits and waivers to underprepared teachers so they could work in classrooms in 2015-16.
School employees in 25 school districts or county offices of education who want to become teachers are eligible to receive annual grants of up to $4,000 as part of an effort to add more teachers to the workforce.
