Calif. Study Shows Progress In Retaining New Teachers

By Lynn Olson

More than eight in 10 newly licensed teachers in California are still in the classroom four years later, according to a report released this month by Gov. Gray Davis.

The study, which provides the first solid data on the teacher-retention rate in the nation's biggest state, tracked individuals who earned their preliminary teaching credentials during fiscal year 1995-96.

It did not, however, include teachers with waivers or emergency credentials, or "pre- interns" and "interns" who are still in the process of earning preliminary certification. Those omissions led some experts to...