This report provides information on the numbers and types of novice (first-year) teachers employed by Alabama school
systems in 1999, and on the ratings they were given by the principals who evaluated them through the Alabama Professional
Education Personnel Evaluation (PEPE) Program. The Governor, the State Board of Education, and the Governor’s Task
Force on Teacher Quality all recognize that quality teaching is the key ingredient to the improvement of Alabama’s public
schools. Data from the PEPE Program are an important indicator of teaching quality and therefore can be a powerful tool for
school improvement. This report organizes PEPE data from 1999 to assist those who are interested in bringing about
improvements in teacher preparation, teaching practice, and the recruitment and selection of teachers, at the statewide level as
well as within teacher education institutions and local school systems. In making these data public, the Governor’s Task Force
on Teacher Quality intends that they will be used positively to contribute to the goal of school improvement.

Background on PEPE

An ever-expanding body of research indicates that excellence in schools is related more directly to the performance of their
teachers and administrators than to any other factor. School systems that implement sound performance-evaluation programs
tied to meaningful opportunities for professional development have laid the foundation for marked improvements in educational
quality. When educators are enabled to do their jobs better, student achievement rises and, as a result, community support for
the schools improves.

Recognizing the value that can result from performance evaluation, the Alabama State Board of Education in 1988 adopted a
resolution requiring the evaluation of all professional education personnel either by a state-developed evaluation system or by a
locally-developed evaluation system that meets state criteria. The Legislature shortly thereafter passed legislation giving this
policy the full force of law. In response, the State Superintendent appointed an oversight committee, together with several
subcommittees, representing a broad cross-section of educators, and charged them with developing a comprehensive
evaluation plan for certified school staff that would be linked to a meaningful and ongoing professional development program.
Working with consultants, these committees developed and refined the PEPE program.

The PEPE instrument for teachers, which is administered by the school principal, focuses on eight competencies associated with
effective teaching. Attainment of these competencies is measured in terms of 26 indicators, with evidence provided by multiple
observations, personal interviews, supervisory reviews, and documentation of professional development activities. The
evaluator gives a numerical score ranging from 1 ("unsatisfactory") to 4 ("demonstrates excellence") for each indicator, and then
for each competency. The evaluator does not average indicator scores to arrive at a score for each competency, but rather
considers the pattern of performance, taking into account all the strengths and weaknesses exhibited. Competency scores are
summed to provide an overall evaluation score. Finally, the evaluator indicates the competencies and indicators that should be
the focus of professional development efforts for the teacher in the coming year.

Non-tenured teachers are evaluated annually; thus, each teacher is given an evaluation in the first, second, and third years of
employment. Tenured teachers are evaluated on a one-, two-, or three-year cycle at the option of the local school system. The
State Department of Education collected performance data on 8,475 teachers evaluated during the 1997-98 school year,
which was the first year of implementation. Summary statistics have been published. During the 1998-99 school year, data
were not collected on all teachers evaluated, and there are no current plans to do so in the future.

In 1997, the State Board of Education adopted accountability standards for teacher education programs in Alabama’s
universities. Under these standards, each teacher education program is rated in part on the basis of the PEPE scores achieved
by its graduates during their first year of employment that falls within five years of certification. The Department has termed
these "novice" teachers. To administer this accountability system, the State Department of Education must collect evaluation
data on the performance of all novice teachers each year. During the 1998-99 school year, the Department notified each school
of the novice teachers to be evaluated. Principals received a pre-printed PEPE summary form for each teacher, along with
certification data indicating the teaching field in which the teacher was to be evaluated. Department staff ensured that properly
completed forms were returned from all schools, including those with local evaluation systems, and a database was generated.
This process for collecting evaluation data on novice teachers will be repeated during the current and each succeeding school
year. Analysis of the results will focus on the accountability system for teacher education.

The Task Force Plan for Analysis of PEPE Data

PEPE is a relatively new tool for improving teaching in Alabama’s public schools. The first step toward strengthening the PEPE
system must be to ensure that meaningful feedback about evaluation results is given to state policymakers, teacher education
institutions, and school systems. Without a formal program for analyzing the results each year, PEPE cannot achieve its full
potential for improving teaching performance. This report is the first in an annual series that will provide information on PEPE
results for novice teachers on a statewide basis, by teacher education institution, and by employing school system. In addition to
the PEPE scores, the reports also will provide descriptive information on the numbers of novice teachers in various categories.
These reports will provide policy makers at each level with information that can be used to make improvements in teacher
education, teaching performance, and the recruitment and retention of teachers.

PEPE is intended to be a tool for promoting professional growth. The design for analyzing PEPE results therefore should
provide a developmental perspective on teacher performance. That is, we are interested in what happens to teacher
performance over time, and in the link between professional growth and career development. This argues for a research design
that will capture data on individual teachers and teacher groups as their careers develop. Thus, the second-year report on
PEPE results will include data on second-year teachers that will supplement the novice teacher data for that year. This will
allow analysis of teacher attrition between the first and second years as well as the changes in teacher evaluations from the first
to the second year of their careers. In the third year, the report will be able to look at three years of data on the same teachers.
With this developmental perspective, the Task Force hopes to provide information that can be useful for improving teaching
performance and making teaching careers in Alabama more enjoyable and productive.

The remaining sections of this report discuss the data tables for the 1999 Novice Teacher Report. All of the tables are linked to
the descriptions and can be accessed by clicking on the blue, underlined section titles.   The tables are .pdf files, and Adobe
Acrobat Reader is needed to view them.  If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader, click on the icon below to download a free 
copy.

STATEWIDE TABLES

Numbers of Novice Teachers Statewide, 1999

Four of the tables in this report provide descriptive information about the 1,939 novice teachers employed by Alabama school
systems during 1999.

Number of Novice Teachers by Employing School System.  The Mobile County School System employed 244
novice teachers in 1999, more than any other school system. The Andalusia City School System employed none. The
1,939 novice teachers employed by all school systems represented about four percent of the number of teachers
employed statewide in the prior year. In four relatively small school systems, the number of novices was ten percent or
more of the total number of teachers the year before. The table provides numbers and percentages of novice teachers for
all school systems in 1999.

Number of Novice Teachers by Certificate. Among the 1,939 novice teachers, 1,774 had certification codes. All
but one of these graduated from Alabama institutions of higher education. Most of the remaining 165, who had no
certification coded, were graduated from teacher education institutions in other states. The majority (55 percent) of those
with certification codes were certified in grades K-6 (Early Childhood Education and Elementary Education). About
fifteen percent of the certifications were Class A (alternative) certifications. The table provides numbers for all seventeen
certifications of novice teachers.

Number of Novice Teachers by Teaching Assignment.  A majority (50.2 percent) of the 1,939 novice teachers
evaluated in 1999 held teaching assignments in Early Childhood Education and Elementary Education. Among secondary
teachers, the largest numbers of novice teachers were teaching social science and language arts. The table provides
numbers for the 37 teaching fields represented in the data.

Number of Novice Teachers by Teacher Education Institution.  A large majority of the novice teachers were
graduates of Alabama teacher education institutions. Among the 28 Alabama institutions that supplied novice teachers,
Athens State University was the largest supplier at 9.8 percent of the total. About five percent of the novice teachers
came from institutions in the contiguous states of Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Florida, and another four percent
came from non-contiguous states. The table provides numbers for all teacher education institutions.

Statewide Novice Teacher Scores on PEPE Indicators

Nine tables provide statewide data on the PEPE scores of novice teachers in 1999. The tables show the average score and the
percent of teachers scoring at levels 4, 3, 2, and 1 on each of the indicators within the seven competencies included in the
PEPE rating system.

Scores of Novice Teachers.  The first table presents a summary of PEPE scores for all novice teachers. The first
column of numbers shows the number of novice teachers rated on each indicator; these numbers vary because some of
the teachers were not rated on individual indicators for one reason or another. The second column shows the average
score for all ratings. The highest average (3.26) was for exhibiting professionalism (indicator 8.3), while the lowest (2.96)
was for observed use of assessment results (indicator 3.4a). The remaining four columns show the percent of novices
scoring at the four rating levels, from highest (4) to lowest (1). The most common ratings on all indicators were level 3,
and very few teachers received ratings at level 1. The differences among indicators in the percent rated very high (level
4) and low (level 2) are interesting. Indicator 3.4a had the lowest percentage of ratings at level 4 (7%), and indicators
2.1 and 4.2 had the highest percentages rated at level 2 (12%); these scores may indicate the need for more emphasis in
these areas within teacher education programs and in professional development activities. On the other hand, the scores
for professionalism, clear communication, and knowledge of subject matter are among the highest ratings found in the
data.

Scores of Novice Teachers by Certificate.  A series of tables presents the statewide PEPE scores for each of the
certification classes represented among novice teachers in 1999. There is one table for each certification classification.
There are noticeable differences among the scores of the Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary classifications.
These may indicate different strengths and weaknesses among those who enter these teaching areas, systematic
differences in the training they receive, and/or differences in the leadership provided by principals at the elementary and
secondary level. Among those with Class B certificates in these three areas, the Early Childhood and Elementary
teachers have higher percentages rated at level 4, and lower percentages rated at level 2, in a number of areas. For
example, 25 percent of Early Childhood teachers scored at level 4 on the expression of positive affect (indicator 5.3),
but only 13 percent of Secondary teachers did so.

Scores of Novice Teachers by Employing School System.  A series of tables presents the PEPE scores for novice
teachers employed in each school system for 1999. There is one table for each school system. A detailed analysis may
find systematic differences among teachers employed in large versus small systems, or city versus county systems, for
example. Administrators in the various school systems may want to compare their results with those of neighboring
systems, or systems with similar characteristics. One caution is that the numbers of novice teachers for some systems are
small, and two or three years of data may be needed to confirm any patterns that appear in the 1999 numbers. Some of
the differences among school systems may reflect variations attributable to certification, teaching assignment, or teacher
education institution.

Scores of Novice Teachers by Teaching Assignment.  A series of tables presents the PEPE scores for novice
teachers in various elementary and secondary teaching assignments for 1999. Secondary assignments are grouped by
subject matter to facilitate comparisons (e.g., all of the sciences are grouped together). There is one table for each
teaching assignment. These show, for example, that there are differences in the ratings of secondary math, science, social
science, and language arts teachers. One of these differences is that many more math teachers scored at level 4 on the
practice and summarization indicator (2.4) than did science or social science teachers (21% versus 7%). Do such
differences indicate the need to reexamine teacher training in certain disciplines, or to focus professional development on
subject matter issues; or do they reflect inherent variations in the subject matter that call for different teaching styles?

Scores of Novice Teachers by Teacher Education Institution.  A series of tables presents the PEPE scores for
novice teachers in 1999 who graduated from Alabama teacher education institutions. There is one table for each teacher
education institution. A detailed analysis may find systematic differences that can be used to focus program improvement
strategies. The cautions in analyzing these data parallel those mentioned above for the data organized by employing
school system. Some of the differences among institutions may reflect variations attributable to the certification areas of
graduates, teaching assignments, and the employing systems.

Scores of Novice Teachers Trained in Alabama.  To provide a comparison between Alabama-trained teachers and
those hired from other states, this table presents the PEPE scores for novice teachers trained in Alabama. When
compared with teachers trained in other states, the Alabama-trained teachers were, for example, more likely to score at
level 4 in monitoring student performance, measuring student progress, and providing feedback (indicators 3.1, 3.2, and
3.3).

Scores of Novice Teachers With "A" Certificates.  This table provides a view of the PEPE scores of all novice teachers
with alternative certifications. The majority of these teachers have secondary certificates, and their scores seem to parallel
those of secondary teachers generally. A more detailed analysis, looking at "A" versus "B" certificates within elementary
and secondary areas, might find differences not seen in this general table.

Scores of Novice Teachers Trained in Other States.  This table is useful for comparison with novice teachers trained
in Alabama, as discussed above.

Scores of Novice Teachers by School Stanford Achievement Test Score.   A series of tables presents the PEPE
scores of novice teachers in schools with varying Stanford Achievement Test (SAT) scores. There is one table for
schools with SAT scores of 65 and above, another for schools with SAT scores of 55-64, and so on, down to schools
with scores of 34 and below. The Stanford score used to create these tables is the overall 1999 average for the school
with which the teacher is identified in the database, as reported by the State Department of Education. Novice teachers
in low-SAT schools were much more likely to have low PEPE scores (level 2 or 1) in such areas as selecting long range
goals and instructional strategies (1.1 and 1.2), orienting students to the lesson and providing practice and summarization
(2.1 and 2.4), measuring student progress and using assessment results (3.2 and 3.4), managing student behavior (4.2),
and communicating high expectations and expressing positive affect (5.2 and 5.3).

In some of these indicator areas, novice teachers in low-SAT schools also were more likely to have high PEPE scores –
which suggests that there is a greater variation in the quality of teaching in low-performing schools. That is, in a high-SAT
school, perhaps 85 percent of novice teachers would receive a PEPE score of 3; in a low-SAT school, only 65 percent
of teachers would receive a PEPE score of 3. This means that many more teachers in the low-SAT school received
either a very high PEPE score or a low PEPE score. If this is a true indication of the teaching quality in such schools, it
suggests the need for intensive professional development programs in such schools to raise the overall quality of teaching.
These are the schools with the greatest teaching challenges, and novice teachers are likely to need the most help in such
situations.

TABLES FOR TEACHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

Numbers of Novice Teachers by Teacher Education Institution, 1999

Four of the tables in this report provide descriptive information about the 1999 novice teachers who were graduates of each
Alabama teacher education institution.

Number of Novice Teachers by Teacher Education Institution.  This table is identical to the statewide table of the
same name, discussed earlier. It shows the total number of novice teachers from each institution.

Number of Novice Teachers by Certificate, by Teacher Education Institution.  A series of tables presents the
number of novice teachers produced by each Alabama teacher education institution in the various certifications. There is
one table for each teacher education institution. These tables show the areas within which the various teacher education
institutions are, in effect, concentrating.

Number of Novice Teachers by Employing School System, by Teacher Education Institution.  A series of tables
presents the number of novice teachers from each Alabama teacher education institution employed in 1999 by individual
local school systems. There is one table for each teacher education institution. These tables show the "customer" school
systems for the various teacher education institutions.

Number of Novice Teachers by Teaching Assignment, by Teacher Education Institution.  A series of tables
presents the number of novice teachers from each Alabama teacher education institution who were employed in 1999 in
various elementary and secondary teaching assignments. There is one table for each teacher education institution. These
tables will be particularly useful for teacher education institutions producing secondary teachers, in that they show the
specific teacher assignments for novice teachers certified at the secondary level.

Novice Teacher Scores on PEPE Indicators, by Teacher Education Institution

Three tables present data on the PEPE scores of 1999 novice teachers produced by each Alabama teacher education
institution. The tables show the average score and the percent of teachers scoring at levels 4, 3, 2, and 1 on each of the
indicators within the seven competencies included in the PEPE rating system.

Scores of Novice Teachers by Teacher Education Institution. This series of tables is identical to the statewide
series of the same name, discussed earlier. It presents data on the PEPE scores of all novice teachers produced by each
teacher education institution.

Scores of Novice Teachers by Certificate, by Teacher Education Institution.  Each of the tables in this series
presents the PEPE scores of the novice teachers in each certification produced by a specific Alabama teacher education
institution. There is a table for each certification in which at least one teacher was produced by the institution. Caution is
warranted where the numbers are small in any of these tables.

Scores of Novice Teachers by Teaching Assignment, by Teacher Education Institution. Each of the tables in this
series presents the PEPE scores of the novice teachers in a specific teaching assignment produced by an Alabama
teacher education institution. The secondary teaching assignments have been grouped into subject matter areas that are
related (e.g., all of the sciences have been grouped together). There is a table for each teaching assignment in which at
least one teacher was produced by the institution. Caution is warranted where the numbers are small in any of these
tables.

TABLES FOR SCHOOL SYSTEMS

Numbers of Novice Teachers by Employing School System, 1999

Four of the tables in this report provide descriptive information about the 1999 novice teachers who were employed by each
Alabama school system.

Number of Novice Teachers by Employing School System. This table is identical to the statewide table with the
same name, discussed earlier. It shows the number of novice teachers by employing school system.

Number of Novice Teachers by Certificate, by Employing School System.  A series of tables presents the number
of novice teachers employed in 1999 by each Alabama school system in the various certifications. There is one table for
each school system, showing the number employed in each certification. These tables show the "demand" for novice
teachers within the various school systems.

Number of Novice Teachers by Teacher Education Institution, by Employing School System. A series of tables
presents the number of novice teachers produced by the various teacher education institutions and employed in 1999 by
each Alabama school system. There is one table for each school system, showing the number produced by each teacher
education institution. These tables show the "source of supply" for novice teachers within the various school systems.

Number of Novice Teachers by Teaching Assignment, by Employing School System.   A series of tables presents
the number of novice teachers in various teaching assignments employed in 1999 by each Alabama school system. There
is one table for each school system, showing the number assigned in each program area. These tables show the
"demand" for novice teachers in specific terms, particularly for secondary teachers.

Novice Teacher Scores on PEPE Indicators, by Employing School System

Three tables present data on the PEPE scores of 1999 novice teachers employed by each Alabama school system. The tables
show the average score and the percent of teachers scoring at levels 4, 3, 2, and 1 on each of the indicators within the seven
competencies included in the PEPE rating system.

Scores of Novice Teachers by Employing School System. This series of tables is identical to the statewide series of
the same name, discussed earlier. It presents data on the PEPE scores of all novice teachers employed by each school
system.

Scores of Novice Teachers by Certificate, by Employing School System. Each of the tables in this series
presents the PEPE scores of the novice teachers in each certification employed by a specific Alabama school system.
There is a table for each certification in which at least one teacher was employed by the school system. Caution is
warranted where the numbers are small in any of these tables.

Scores of Novice Teachers by Teaching Assignment, by Employing School System.  Each of the tables in this
series presents the PEPE scores of the novice teachers in a specific teaching assignment employed by an Alabama
school system. The secondary teaching assignments have been grouped into subject matter areas that are related (e.g.,
all of the sciences have been grouped together). There is a table for each teaching assignment in which at least one
teacher was employed by the school system. Caution is warranted where the numbers are small in any of these tables.