Region at a Glance

What the Statistics Say About Highly Qualified Science Teachers By Richard Greenough

Northwest Science Teachers With Science Majors

	Northwest	United States
1994	81%	74%
2000	74%	75%

The proportion of Northwest teachers whose main assignment was science and who majored in science dropped significantly from 1994 to 2000. The proportion remained static for the nation as a whole.

Source: NCES Schools and Staffing Survey, 19992000 (in the Council of Chief State School Officers' State Indicators of Science and Mathematics Education, 2003)

A State-by-State Comparison of Northwest Science Teachers (Grades 712) with Science Majors

More than one in five Northwest middle and high school science teachers whose main assignment is science don't have a major in science.

Source: NCES Schools and Staffing Survey, 19992000 (in the Council of Chief School Officers' State Indicators of Science and Mathematics Education, 2003)

Natural Sciences Course-Taking by College-Bound Seniors

College-bound seniors in three Northwest states are neither lagging nor leading in natural sciences course-taking, when compared to their peers in states with closely comparable SAT participation rates of 4956 percent.

Source: College Board, College Bound Seniors 2004: State Reports

Science Course-Taking by Seniors in Northwest States

	Biology	Chemistry	Physics	SAT-Takers
Alaska	95%	70%	34%	53%
Idaho	94%	77%	43%	20%
Montana	97%	75%	45%	29%
Oregon	95%	75%	45%	56%
Washington	93%	78%	43%	52%
United States	97%	87%	50%	48%

Source: College Board, College Bound Seniors 2004: State Reports

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Northwest Education

Spring 2005 / Volume 10, Number 3. A publication of the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory