These Are The States Where Poor Students Are Most Likely To Have Inexperienced Teachers

These Are The States Where Minority And Poor Students Get The Least Qualified Teachers

New information released by the Education Department this week shows that in nearly every state, the neediest schools aren't getting the most experienced and qualified educators.

As part of the Obama administration's Excellent Educators for All initiative, the Department of Education published "educator equity profiles" for every state and the District of Columbia. The profiles compare the qualifications of educators who teach in low-income, high-minority schools with those who teach in wealthier areas.

The Excellent Educators of All initiative is an effort to ensure that all students have equal access to the best educators, regardless of background. The initiative calls on individual states to develop, by June 2015, plans for reversing the trends that cause inequitable distribution of teachers. The "educator equity profiles" were originally sent to the states for review in November, and are intended to inform states' plans by helping them understand their current shortcomings.

Below, we have created maps depicting some of the data from the state profiles. The first map looks at where first-year educators are most likely to teach in every state, examining the gap between the percentage of first-year teachers in the richest quartiles of schools and the poorest. The second map examines the presence of highly qualified educators in schools with high and low concentrations of minority students, showing that qualified teachers are less likely to end up in schools with high minority populations.

A highly qualified teacher is defined generally in the profiles as one who is "fully certified or licensed by the State ... holds at least a bachelor’s degree from a four-year institution, and ... demonstrates competence in each core academic subject area in which the teacher teaches."

The profiles also provide data on some individual districts, average teacher salaries and teacher absences.

Poor Schools Are More Likely To Have First-Year Teachers
The Gap In Percentages Of New Educators Teaching In Rich And Poor Schools
*Negative numbers indicate instances where poor schools are more likely to have experienced teachers.

High Minority Schools Are More Likely To Have Less Qualified Teachers
The Gap In Percentages Of Highly Qualified Teachers In High Minority And Low Minority Schools
*Negative numbers indicate instances where minority-heavy schools are more likely to have qualified teachers.

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25. Florida

States With Best Educational Outcomes For Girls

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