Segregated by Teacher Experience in California

Introduction

Among the many inequalities associated with racial segregation in schools, one notable disparity is the unequal access to experienced teachers. Students benefit in several ways from more experienced teachers. For example, a developing body of research finds teachers with more years of teaching experience increase student growth on achievement tests more than novice teachers (Kini & Podolsky, 2016; Ladd & Sorensen, 2017). New teachers can educate children, mere experience does not produce excellence, and teaching is just one of many factors influencing school outcomes, but, on average, researchers find a positive relationship between years of experience and multiple student outcomes. A concerning trend is apparent when analyzing teacher experience in schools with different racial compositions of students. Schools with high proportions of Black or Latinx students have a disproportionate share of inexperienced teachers, both throughout the nation and in California specifically (Clotfelter, Ladd, & Clifton, 2023; Darling-Hammond, 2004; Goldhaber, Lavery, & Theobald, 2015; Knight, 2019; Learning Policy Institute, 2023; Shields et al., 1999).

Several policies and initiatives have attempted to address the inequitable distribution of experience, including the Every Student Succeeds Act (2015), and other influential federal policies in recent years (Knight, 2019). State-level policies and analyses in California have addressed the racial distribution of teacher experience, including the State’s release of three annual reports in 2015, 2016, and 2017 titled, California State Plan to Ensure Equitable Access to Excellent Educators. Public pressure and court challenges may also have influenced the distribution of teacher experience. Given the importance of teacher experience and possible changes to the racial distribution of experience in recent years, this policy brief examines the distribution of teacher experience across segregated schools in California.