Troops to Teachers: Program Helped Address Teacher Shortages. Report to Congressional Requesters.

This report examines the effectiveness of Troops to Teachers (TTT), which helped former military personnel become certified and employed teachers in school districts with low income populations experiencing teacher shortages. Information came from the TTT's database and from 1998 study, Profile of TTT, by the National Center for Education Information. Program officials from 10 of the 24 state offices that joined TTT completed interviews. Researchers reviewed reports by research organizations documenting factors that could have affected program participation. Overall, 13,756 former military personnel were accepted into TTT, and 3,821 were hired as teachers from 1994-2000. These results may be low, since data are incomplete. Nearly all of those hired remained in teaching after the first year. Compared to teachers nationwide, more TTT teachers taught math, science, special education, and vocational education and taught in inner city schools and high schools. Factors such as stipends, incentive grants, economic conditions, and state initiatives may have influenced the number of people who applied to TTT and became teachers. Factors that could have decreased the number of applicants and teachers include demand for specialized workers, economic growth, and reduction in supply of applicants. (SM)