Sec. 1. Short title and findings
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This Act may be cited as the or the Supporting the Teaching profession through Revitalizing Investments in Valuable Educators Act . STRIVE Act Congress finds the following: States identified significant teacher shortages in their reports to the Department of Education during the 2017–2018 school year, with 46 States and the District of Columbia identifying shortages in special education, 47 States and the District of Columbia identifying teacher shortages in mathematics, 43 States identifying teacher shortages in science, 32 States identifying shortages in teachers of English learners, and 32 States identifying teacher shortages in career and technical education.
One reason for the shortages in these areas is because mathematics and science teachers can earn significantly higher starting salaries in the private sector. Further, rural communities face limitations in recruiting and retaining teachers for reasons such as funding issues, limited teacher supply, and geographic isolation. Students in high-poverty and high-minority schools, both urban and rural, typically feel the largest impact of teacher shortages. These schools often experience difficulty hiring and high turnover on a regular basis, and they are the most severely affected when teacher shortages become widespread.
This happens, in part, because inequitable funding of schools leaves many low-wealth urban and rural communities with inadequate resources, so they must pay lower salaries and typically have poorer working conditions. According to a study by Mathematica, when high-performing teachers were offered large financial incentives to transfer to low-performing schools, their students’ scores climbed 10 points in reading and 9 points in math compared to students statewide over 2 years.
According to a survey conducted by Scholastic, 97 percent of teachers list supportive school leadership as essential or very important for retaining strong teachers and improving student achievement, more than any other factor. Research suggests that incurring postsecondary education debt can decrease the likelihood that high-achieving students, lower-income students, and students of color choose to work in lower-wage professions in general, especially in the education system.
Therefore, loan forgiveness and service scholarships for educators may be especially effective for recruiting teachers and school leaders from diverse, lower-income backgrounds. According to the Learning Policy Institute, teacher loan forgiveness and service scholarship programs can be successful in both recruiting and retaining teachers. To be effective, these programs should provide a financial benefit that meaningfully offsets the cost of a teacher’s professional preparation.
This includes covering licensing and certification costs. A 2015 Government Accountability Office study and a 2018 follow up study by the Department of Education of Federal grant and loan forgiveness programs for teachers found that the structure of these programs matters. Further research shows effective loan forgiveness and service scholarship programs follow 5 design principles. These programs— cover all or a large percentage of tuition; target high-need fields or schools, or both; recruit candidates who are academically strong, committed to teaching, and well-prepared; commit recipients to teach with reasonable incentives to fulfill their commitment; and are bureaucratically manageable for participating teachers, local educational agencies, and institutions of higher education.
The TEACH grant program under subpart 9 of part A of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1070g et seq.) provides up to $16,000 in grants to prospective teachers who agree to teach in low-income schools and high-need subject areas for 4 years. This is far below the Department of Education’s most recent estimate of the average annual cost of approximately $25,409 in tuition, fees, and room and board at the average full-time undergraduate 4-year institution.
The National Center for Education Statistics found that more than 2/3 of the individuals entering the education field borrow money to pay for their higher education. Teachers with a bachelor’s degree have an average debt of $20,000 and teachers with a master’s degree have an average debt of $50,000. Teachers also start out earning 20 percent less than their peers with comparable degrees who pursue jobs outside of education. According to a report by the Center for American Progress, in more than 30 States, a mid-career teacher heading a family of 4 is eligible for several forms of government assistance, including the free and reduced-price lunch program for their children.
These compounding factors can disincentivize prospective teachers from entering the profession. In evaluating the TEACH grant program, the Government Accountability Office found that almost 2/3 of the requests for assistance under the program from October 2011 through March 2014 cited problems submitting certification paperwork. The Government Accountability Office recommended improvements in the program’s design, including reducing burdensome annual paperwork, increasing awareness about the program, and streamlining the dispute process.
Spending by teachers on school supplies adds up to $1,600,000,000 per year nationally. According to the Education Market Association, most teachers spend around $500, with 10 percent spending $1,000 or more. Teacher quality partnerships are designed to strengthen higher education-based teacher and school leader preparation. Studies show that teachers who are better prepared to enter the classroom stay longer and perform better than their underprepared peers. Teacher quality partnerships also fund programs like induction and mentoring that have been shown to increase teacher and school leader retention.
Research indicates that the ongoing support for teachers provided by teacher quality partnerships, including mentoring and coaching, is an important part of early childhood education programs. According to the Center for Education Data and Research, a more diverse teaching workforce leads to better student outcomes, particularly in high-poverty environments with significant at-risk student populations. Further, researchers from Vanderbilt University found that greater racial and ethnic diversity in the principal corps benefits students, especially children of color.
Three commonly cited rationales for this benefit are— students of color benefit from seeing minority adult role models in a position of authority; the higher expectations that teachers of color tend to place on students of color; and the effect of cultural differences between teachers of different backgrounds on instructional strategies and interpretation of students’ behavior. According to the report entitled Empowered Educators: How Leading Nations Design Systems for Teaching Quality , effective teacher preparation successfully integrates theory and practice components.
Further, according to the Preparing Teachers for a Changing World report sponsored by the National Academy Foundation, highly effective teachers vary in styles, yet have many teaching strategies in common. Research has identified a set of knowledge, skills, and dispositions essential for beginning teachers that should be incorporated into the teacher education curriculum. This includes the opportunity and capacity to reflect on and evaluate skills and to learn from practice. Evidence-based teacher preparation includes developing teacher skills, content knowledge, inquiry, and the capacity to provide effective learning experiences for a diverse set of students.
As it does in medicine, the Federal Government should maintain a substantial, sustained program of service scholarships or loan forgiveness programs that cover training costs in high-quality preparation programs at the undergraduate or graduate level for those who will teach in a high-need field or location for at least 4 years, as candidates are much more likely to remain in the profession and to make a difference for student achievement after 3 years of teaching. State governments can augment such an approach with programs targeted to specific local needs.
Research has shown the impact cultural competence can have on closing student achievement gaps and improving student outcomes by incorporating racial and ethnic minority contributions in curricula and diversifying pedagogical practices. Cultural competence is both a moral and ethical responsibility to create a welcoming environment for students to succeed. The impact of having educators who have the ability to challenge and motivate diverse student populations can dramatically improve our educational system and student outcomes.
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Short title and findings
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