This table shows the change from 1987-88 to 1999-2000 in the percentage of middle and high school students taught by teachers who either lack certification and a college major in the subject they teach, or lack certification and a college major or minor in that subject.
| | MIDDLE GRADES | HIGH SCHOOL GRADES | ||||||
| Neither major nor certification | No major, minor, or certification | Neither major nor certification | No major, minor, or certification | |||||
| Subject Field | 1987- 1988 | 1999- 2000 | 1987- 1988 | 1999- 2000 | 1987- 1988 | 1999- 2000 | 1987- 1988 | 1999- 2000 |
| English | 64.6 | 58.3 | 19.5 | 17.4 | 38.2 | 29.8 | 13.0 | 5.6 |
| Foreign language | — | 60.7 | — | 13.8 | — | 47.6 | — | 11.1 |
| Mathematics | 69.9 | 68.5 | 17.2 | 21.9 | 37.4 | 31.4 | 11.1 | 8.6 |
| Science | 62.4 | 57.2 | 16.3 | 14.2 | 31.4 | 27.3 | 8.1 | 5.5 |
Biology/life science | 70.0 | 64.2 | 32.9 | 28.8 | 47.7 | 44.7 | 9.3 | 9.7 |
Physical science | 92.9 | 93.2 | 43.0 | 40.5 | 70.2 | 63.1 | 30.9 | 15.5 |
Chemistry | — | — | — | — | 62.9 | 61.1 | 16.8 | 9.4 |
Geology/earth/ space science | — | — | — | — | 83.2 | 78.6 | 50.9 | 36.3 |
Physics | — | — | — | — | 81.6 | 66.5 | 40.3 | 17.0 |
| Social science | 48.3 | 51.1 | 12.7 | 13.3 | 33.7 | 27.9 | 7.5 | 5.9 |
History | 67.5 | 71.0 | 15.2 | 11.5 | 62.1 | 62.5 | 13.0 | 8.4 |
| ESL/bilingual education | 80.5 | 72.9 | 41.2 | 36.1 | 88.7 | 70.8 | 54.4 | 31.1 |
| Arts and music | 15.1 | 15.0 | 2.0 | 2.5 | 15.7 | 19.6 | 3.3 | 5.0 |
| Physical education | 22.2 | 18.9 | 5.8 | 3.4 | 24.8 | 19.1 | 5.6 | 4.5 |
NOTE: A dash indicates that data were not available. Middle-level teachers include teachers who taught students in grades 5-9; high school teachers include all teachers who taught any of grades 10-12 as well as those who taught only 9th grade.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey
