California Department of Education Announces First-Ever Interagency Release of Teacher Assignment Data

The following is a joint news release from the California Department of Education, California State Board of Education, and California Commission on Teacher Credentialing:

SACRAMENTO—The California Department of Education (CDE), in cooperation with the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) and the State Board of Education (SBE), announced today the first-ever release of statewide Teaching Assignment Monitoring Outcome data. This information, from the 2020–21 school year, provides a snapshot, broken down by county, district, and school, that shows how teachers are authorized to teach their assigned courses based on a variety of factors, including the subject area of the course and the number of students enrolled in the course. Today’s release creates a baseline data set that will inform state and local decisions over the coming years as agencies work to address teacher shortages, a long-term national issue exacerbated by COVID-19.

“As we begin to emerge from a global pandemic, this data is an important tool to drive conversations about how we can best serve students,” said Mary Nicely, Chief Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction at CDE. “By launching this annual report, we are providing a new level of transparency to support schools, students, and families as we find ways to navigate today’s challenges to public education, including statewide education workforce shortages.”

“There is no question that well-qualified teachers are among the most important contributors to a student’s educational experience,” said State Board of Education President Linda Darling-Hammond. “California is committed to ensuring that every student has teachers who are well prepared to teach challenging content to diverse learners in effective ways and are fully supported in their work. With this data, we can focus on measures to assist our educator workforce as they strive to provide high- quality teaching to all students, especially our most vulnerable students.” To that end, California has invested more than $3.6 billion in the last four years to improve teacher recruitment, retention, and training.

According to statewide data found on the CDE DataQuest 2020–21 Teaching Assignment Monitoring Outcomes (AMO) by Full-Time Equivalent web page, 83.1 percent of teacher assignments are clear, meaning the class or course is taught by a teacher who has a credential and is fully authorized to teach the course. Another 4.4 percent of assignments are out-of-field, meaning the teacher has a credential but has not demonstrated subject matter competence in the subject area(s) or for the associated student population according to statewide standards; 1.5 percent of classes or courses are taught by teachers with an intern credential, meaning the teacher is still completing their training or other credential requirements while serving as the teacher of record; and 4.1 percent of assignments are considered ineffective, meaning the teacher is authorized by an emergency permit, or holds a teaching credential but is teaching outside of their credentialed area without authorization, or holds no credential, permit, or authorization to teach in California. More information about the assignment monitoring definitions can be found on the CDE Teaching AMO Report web page.

The data report is the result of extensive cooperation between the CTC and the CDE. Following the State Board’s approval of teacher assignment definitions in the federal Every Student Succeeds Act state plan, the agencies began developing a roadmap providing the public with the meaningful data released today. Bringing the two data systems together was a two-year process. “The Commission on Teacher Credentialing is pleased that, through this partnership with the Department, our new CalSAAS system is informing a yearly, comprehensive look at teacher preparation and assignment, from the state to the school site level,” stated Mary Vixie Sandy, Director of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. “This collaboration and the Department’s new DataQuest tables are finally shining a light on this most important indicator of educational opportunity: a fully prepared and properly assigned teacher, for both the subjects and the students they are teaching.”

AB 1219 required the CTC to develop an electronic teacher assignment monitoring system known as the California Statewide Assignment Accountability System (CalSAAS) for the purpose of annually monitoring teacher assignments. Additionally, AB 1219 required the CTC and the CDE to enter into a data sharing agreement to facilitate the annual monitoring of teacher assignments. As part of this data sharing agreement, the CDE is required to provide the CTC with certificated staff assignment and course data that is submitted to the CDE by local educational agencies (LEAs) through the annual California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) Fall 2 data submission.

“While this first-ever baseline data set shows that a vast majority of teaching assignments are properly filled, there is more work to be done to hire, train, and retain teachers, especially in light of the national teacher shortage,” said SBE President Darling-Hammond. “Recent statewide initiatives like the $500 million Golden State Teacher Grants , the $350 million investment in Teacher Residency programs, and the $1.5 billion Educator Effectiveness Block Grant are aimed at bringing more teachers into the pipeline and providing them with the effective training—steps that will move California toward a day when 100 percent of assignments are ‘clear.’”

The complete California Teaching Assignment Monitoring Outcome data can be found on the CDE DataQuest 2020–21 Teaching AMO by Full-Time Equivalent web page. More information about AMO can be found on the CDE Teaching AMO Report web page.

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Tony Thurmond — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5602, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100