What is the purpose of the Cal Poly-Cotchett initiative in science and mathematics teacher education?
The aim of the initiative is to help increase the number of credentialed teachers of math and science in underserved regions of the state. California has a total of 37,300 teachers who have not yet met California’s qualifications for even a preliminary teaching credential. Of these, 27% are math and science teachers. Low-income area students are nearly three times more likely to be taught by under-prepared teachers than students from more affluent areas. Students in the lowest-achieving schools, measured by the state’s Academic Performance Index, are 4.5 times more likely to face under-prepared teachers than students in the highest-achieving schools. Q: What are the program elements of the Cal Poly-Cotchett Initiative? A: The initiative aims to develop programs to help ease the critical shortage of credentialed math and science teachers in underserved areas, as well as to serve as a model for other universities in their related efforts. The most innovative elements of the initiative in
