Documents & Reports Template

2002 Report Summary

Report to the Delaware Department of Education
Alternative Routes to Certification
May 2002

Executive Summary
[PDF Full-Text Version]

School and district participation in ARTC continues to be very broad across the state. Candidates have been enrolled by

94% of regular and one-third of vocational school districts, and three charter schools.

83% of regular and vocational high schools and two-thirds of middle schools.

The program continues to help districts identify candidates for hard-to-fill positions: 55% to 65% of candidates in the last three cohorts were recruited and advised through the ARTC office.

Between August 1997 and September 2001, schools and districts enrolled 164 candidates: Most (54%) have completed their ARTC courses, 40 (26%) are currently enrolled, 4 (2%) are on leave from the program, and 32 (20%) withdrew, resigned and/or were not renewed by their districts. Twenty-two additional candidates have already been enrolled in the 2002 - 2003 cohort.

Candidates have been evenly balanced by gender and 29% minority. Most are in their 20's or 30's (75%); working at the high school level (81%); teaching science, business or foreign languages (55%); and come to the classroom directly from other careers in business and industry (66%). Almost one-third (31%) had one or more advanced degree and 62% had earned an overall college GPA of 3.0 or higher. Most (59%) had no education courses or experience teaching or working with children before taking their ARTC positions; the proportion of candidates with prior experience has been decreasing.

Twenty-five (21%) of the 120 candidates enrolled in the first four cohorts failed to complete their ARTC courses. This compares favorably to national statistics on attrition among first-year teachers (20%), and has declined from 38% in the 1997 cohort to 23% in 1998 to 15% in 1999 to 13% in 2000. About half left the program due to unsatisfactory performance in courses and/or their classrooms; the remainder left for personal and professional reasons unrelated to performance. Candidates who completed courses were more likely to be younger, working at the middle school level, and to have had some prior experience teaching or working with children.

A survey of supervisors of graduates of the first four cohorts, indicates that ARTC teachers are

· staying in Delaware schools (93% in Delaware; 88% in public or charter secondary schools);
· completing certification and earning tenure, where applicable;
· performing as well as or better than other teachers (99%); and
· rated "strong" across a variety of specific domains of teaching performance.

Current trends suggest that ARTC enrollments will continue to grow, but that additional sources of financial aid will be needed. Curriculum and instruction may need to be adapted to candidates with less prior experience related to education and to more candidates in science and mathematics. An important future goal will be to improve the accessibility and consistency of mentoring.

Report to the Delaware Department of Education
Alternative Routes to Certification
May 2002

Executive Summary
[PDF Full-Text Version]

School and district participation in ARTC continues to be very broad across the state. Candidates have been enrolled by

94% of regular and one-third of vocational school districts, and three charter schools.
83% of regular and vocational high schools and two-thirds of middle schools.

The program continues to help districts identify candidates for hard-to-fill positions: 55% to 65% of candidates in the last three cohorts were recruited and advised through the ARTC office.

Between August 1997 and September 2001, schools and districts enrolled 164 candidates: Most (54%) have completed their ARTC courses, 40 (26%) are currently enrolled, 4 (2%) are on leave from the program, and 32 (20%) withdrew, resigned and/or were not renewed by their districts. Twenty-two additional candidates have already been enrolled in the 2002 - 2003 cohort.

Candidates have been evenly balanced by gender and 29% minority. Most are in their 20's or 30's (75%); working at the high school level (81%); teaching science, business or foreign languages (55%); and come to the classroom directly from other careers in business and industry (66%). Almost one-third (31%) had one or more advanced degree and 62% had earned an overall college GPA of 3.0 or higher. Most (59%) had no education courses or experience teaching or working with children before taking their ARTC positions; the proportion of candidates with prior experience has been decreasing.

Twenty-five (21%) of the 120 candidates enrolled in the first four cohorts failed to complete their ARTC courses. This compares favorably to national statistics on attrition among first-year teachers (20%), and has declined from 38% in the 1997 cohort to 23% in 1998 to 15% in 1999 to 13% in 2000. About half left the program due to unsatisfactory performance in courses and/or their classrooms; the remainder left for personal and professional reasons unrelated to performance. Candidates who completed courses were more likely to be younger, working at the middle school level, and to have had some prior experience teaching or working with children.

A survey of supervisors of graduates of the first four cohorts, indicates that ARTC teachers are

· staying in Delaware schools (93% in Delaware; 88% in public or charter secondary schools);
· completing certification and earning tenure, where applicable;
· performing as well as or better than other teachers (99%); and
· rated "strong" across a variety of specific domains of teaching performance.

Current trends suggest that ARTC enrollments will continue to grow, but that additional sources of financial aid will be needed. Curriculum and instruction may need to be adapted to candidates with less prior experience related to education and to more candidates in science and mathematics. An important future goal will be to improve the accessibility and consistency of mentoring.