Students are losing out on months of learning as Texas becomes more reliant on uncertified teachers to fill vacancies, according to new research.
A study by Texas Tech University’s Jacob Kirksey examined the ramifications stemming from an explosion of uncertified teachers across the state.
Students with new uncertified teachers lost the equivalent of about four months of learning in reading and three months in math, Kirksey’s research found.
However, the data showed that if an uncertified teacher had previous classroom experience – such as working as a substitute – students performed on par with those taught by certified educators.
“It really is starting to show that just being in the classroom – before being a full time teacher on your own with very limited mentorship and supervision – is super important,” Kirksey said. “It matters that teachers have been around kids before.”
The number of uncertified educators has been on the rise across Texas, seeing a sharp spike in the years since the COVID pandemic. A Dallas Morning News analysis of state data found that roughly one in three new teachers hired in the state during the 2022-23 school year were uncertified. In 2019, the year before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, that figure sat at 12%.
The state has no way to know if uncertified educators received rigorous training before stepping into the classroom.
Kirksey’s research probes a different dataset than the one used in The News’ analysis. It excludes charter schools – which are exempt from certain licensure rules and hire a much higher rate of uncertified educators. His study focuses on teachers of record in their first years of experience at school.
It dives into the sheer number of uncertified hires, their educational backgrounds and their impact on students’ academics, attendance and disability services.
What is the impact on kids?
Kirksey’s research highlighted the negative impact new uncertified educators can have on students’ math and reading scores, but he found other areas of concern, too.
Young students with such teachers exhibited higher rates of absenteeism compared to their peers, according to the study.
Teachers in the early elementary grades are often tasked with screening students for dyslexia. The study found that students assigned to an uncertified new teacher in first grade were less likely to receive dyslexia services by third grade.
“Qualified teachers are trained to recognize early signs of dyslexia, administer screening instruments, and understand the importance of accurate and timely diagnoses for early intervention and support,” he wrote. “The hiring of uncertified teachers has likely resulted in significant underdiagnoses of dyslexia.”
For Kirksey, who has dyslexia, this data point feels personal. He knows that if children with dyslexia don’t get the services they need, they can fall behind in reading.
“Not being able to read obviously spills over into so many other different subjects,” he said.
What can Texas do to address the explosion of uncertified teachers?
State officials are paying attention to the trend.
When Education Commissioner Mike Morath spoke to the State Board of Education last week about students’ lackluster performance on STAAR, he pointed to the rise in uncertified educators as a possible factor.
“We had the largest number of what you would think of as potentially untrained teacher hires that has ever happened in state history,” Morath said.
Typically, to become certified in Texas, teaching candidates must have a bachelor’s degree, complete an educator preparation program, pass related exams, submit a state application and go through a background check. They are supposed to receive training in how to manage student behavior, plan lessons, serve children with disabilities and other classroom skills.
The path to becoming a teacher without state certification is less clear. The level of training can be wide-ranging.
Dallas ISD leaders say they provide their uncertified teachers with additional training and support throughout the school year. Officials also pair these new hires with mentors.
While school leaders say they prefer hiring someone with certification, that’s not always possible.
Districts are under pressure to fill classrooms amid an educator shortage in several areas. Legislative efforts to boost recruitment and retention fell short of the finish line last year.
Jessica McLoughlin, the state education agency’s director of educator quality, said officials are focusing on increasing support for teacher candidates. Educators-in-training are expected to get more coaching and experience inside the classroom as part of their preparation.
But Kelsey Kling, a policy analyst with the teacher union Texas AFT, said the fact that uncertified teachers are the largest category of new hires across the state is “more than a little alarming.”
She called on state leaders to fix the policies that opened the door for so many teachers to enter the profession without “appropriate training and certification.”
“We need guardrails on the duties an uncertified teacher can perform on campus and strict limits on how long an uncertified teacher may remain in the classroom without obtaining all the credentials,” she said.
Where are uncertified hires working?
Uncertified educators made up 45% of full-time, new teacher hires in Kirksey’s examination.
Their distribution across the state was uneven. Rural districts hired these teachers much more often – at a rate four times higher than in non-rural communities.
Different regions of the state also had striking disparities in the percentage of certified vs. uncertified teachers hired in recent years. In Region 10, which includes Dallas as well many other smaller districts, about 46% of new hires were uncertified.
In Region 3, which is headquartered in Victoria, roughly 7 in 10 new hires lacked certification. On the other end of the spectrum was El Paso’s Region 19, where about 23% of new, first-time teacher hires were uncertified.
One main reason districts leaned on uncertified educators was so they could teach career-related courses in high school. While such a teacher may not have had classroom experience, they may have brought years of relevant experience in the field.
Kirksey’s study found uncertified educators now are hired across grade levels and subjects, including to teach elementary schools and special education.
What education do uncertified teachers tend to have?
Almost three-fourths of uncertified teachers had no prior experience in Texas public schools. About 16% are former paraprofessionals, who provided classroom support, tutoring or other assistance on campus.
Nearly one in five new uncertified teachers did not have a bachelor’s degree, Kirksey found. He cautioned that this data is self-reported by school districts. Discrepancies may stem from administrative issues. However, those data errors are unlikely to account for the trend, he added.
Uncertified new hires in charter schools are more likely to hold a bachelor’s degree.
The DMN Education Lab deepens the coverage and conversation about urgent education issues critical to the future of North Texas.
The DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative, with support from Bobby and Lottye Lyle, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, Garrett and Cecilia Boone, The Meadows Foundation, The Murrell Foundation, Solutions Journalism Network, Southern Methodist University, Sydney Smith Hicks and the University of Texas at Dallas. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control of the Education Lab’s journalism.
