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Classroom Context: Teacher Major/Minor

 

As part of the 2009 reading assessment, teachers of fourth- and eighth-graders were asked about their undergraduate and graduate education in reading/language arts as well as in other subject areas. The tables below, which focus only on reading/language arts and general education degrees earned, provide the percentages and average scores of students whose teachers responded within each category shown.

Grade 4
Grade 8

Approximately 66 percent of eighth-graders had teachers who reported having an undergraduate major or minor in English.

Did you have a major, minor, or special emphasis in any of the following subjects as part of your undergraduate coursework?

  Percentage of students
Subject Major Minor/special emphasis Neither
Reading, language arts, or literacy education 18 23 59
English 47 19 33
Other language arts-related subject 10 16 74
Elementary or secondary education 49 17 34

 

Approximately 25 percent of eighth-graders had teachers who reported having a graduate major or minor in English.

Did you have a major, minor, or special emphasis in any of the following subjects as part of your graduate coursework?

  Percentage of students
Subject Major Minor/special emphasis Neither
Reading, language arts, or literacy education 20 16 64
English 14 11 75
Other language arts-related subject 7 8 85
Elementary or secondary education 38 9 53

NOTE: Detail may not sum to total because of rounding. See complete data for teacher undergraduate major or minor in reading education, English, other language arts-related subject, or education. See complete data for teacher graduate major or minor in reading education, English, other language arts-related subject, or education.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2009 Reading Assessment.

Browse questionnaires for the NAEP assessments.