Factors Influencing the Percent of Non-Certified Teachers in Texas School Districts

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explain which factors influence the percent of noncertified teachers in Texas school districts. Research indicates that the hiring of unqualified teachers is generally a result of distributional inequities, rather than overall shortages of qualified individuals (Darling-Hammond and Sykes 2003, Ingersoll 2001). Scholarly literature supports four factors that correlate with high percentages of non-certified teachers in schools: percentage of economically disadvantaged students, teacher salaries, population of minority students, and identification as major urban schools. To determine how these factors influence Texas school districts, a multiple regression was run with data from the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS), State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) Interactive Reports, and the Texas Education Agency Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS) for the 2009-2010 academic year. Findings indicate that percent minority and average teacher salaries influence the percent of non-certified teachers. Percent economically disadvantaged students negatively influenced the percent of non-certified teachers thereby rejecting the projected direction of the hypothesis.