REL Report: The Teacher Pipeline for Indiana’s K–12 Public Schools

Posted March 24, 2021

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Leaders at the Indiana Commission for Higher Education and the Indiana Department of Education are concerned about teacher shortages and want to better understand the teacher pipeline for the state’s K–12 public schools. A new REL Midwest study examined the characteristics of and outcomes for 11,080 students who first enrolled in an Indiana public college or university in 2010/11, 2011/12, or 2012/13 and pursued a bachelor’s degree in education at any point in college (undergraduate education students). The study also explored factors related to completion of a bachelor’s degree.

Key findings include:

About 41 percent of undergraduate education students completed a bachelor’s degree in education by 2017/18. Among the completers, 55 percent earned an initial instructional license by 2017/18. Among completers with a license, 69 percent entered teaching in an Indiana K–12 public school by 2018/19.
Compared with the initial group of students entering education programs, students who completed a bachelor’s degree, those who earned an initial instructional license, and those who entered teaching in an Indiana public school were less likely to be from a racial/ethnic minority group or to have been eligible for the national school lunch program in high school.
Students who entered an education program in their third year of college or later were less likely to complete a bachelor’s degree in education than students who entered an education program in their first year of college.

Read the report at: https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/projects/project.asp?projectID=4611

The Regional Educational Laboratories (RELs) build the capacity of educators to use data and research to improve student outcomes. Each REL responds to needs identified in its region and makes learning opportunities and other resources available to educators throughout the United States. The REL program is a part of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) in the U.S. Department of Education. To receive regular updates on REL work, including events and reports, follow IES on Facebook and Twitter. To provide feedback on this or other REL work, email Contact.IES@ed.gov.

The Institute of Education Sciences, a part of the U.S. Department of Education, is the nation’s leading source for rigorous, independent education research, evaluation and statistics.