Diagnosing the current state of out-of-field teaching in high school science and mathematics

The U.S. government has acknowledged the critical role that teachers play in the production of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) professionals who will drive our nation’s economy. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) was passed to improve the quality of education nationwide, in part, by decreasing the number of out-of-field (OOF) teachers. However, the impact of NCLB and related efforts on the current state of OOF teaching in high school science and mathematics has yet to be examined. Our analysis of data from the National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS) indicates that from 2003–2016, the proportion of OOF teachers in chemistry and physics has increased, and there has been an increase in the number of students assigned to OOF teachers across subjects. We discuss the societal impact of our results and the critical role that policymakers, school administrators, and academic institutions, particularly university faculty, can play in its solution.