Oregon Public Broadcasting

The federal No Child Left Behind Act requires states to count how many “highly qualified teachers” they have. But what “highly qualified” means is largely up to states.

A new analysis from the Education Trust questions whether states - including Washington - are being too lax in that definition.

Washington state’s official count of “highly qualified teachers” in the study was over 98 percent. But a federal survey found that less than 60 percent of Washington classes were taught by teachers who were certified in that subject.

A teacher with a history degree might have been teaching math, for instance.

Candace Crawford, from the Education Trust, says that discrepancy is a problem.

Candace Crawford: “Certainly, the gap between those two numbers should be a cause for concern, and should really spur the public to question how Washington is defining ‘highly qualified teacher’ in the state.” 

Washington state officials dispute the high number of classes taught by teachers out of their field.

But they acknowledge that Washington’s teacher qualification standards could account for the disparity.