UC Irvine Provides Free Online CSET Test Preparation Courses Responding To California Budget Crisis

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) March 30, 2009 --

IRVINE, Calif. (March 30, 2009) – The mounting severity of California’s critical shortage of qualified math teachers has been the impetus for the development of a free CSET preparation program at the University of California, Irvine. The program addresses the urgent need to help new and incumbent teachers prepare for and pass the California Subject Examinations for Teachers (CSET), a test which measures the subject matter competency of teachers seeking credentials to teach mathematics in California schools. Made available as part of the University’s OpenCourseWare initiative – which allows self-learners to view and utilize materials and resources, through the Web, free of charge – the new courses will serve as part of the solution to what many are calling a national crisis.
The Problem:
California’s shortage of fully prepared math teachers currently undermines the quality of the state’s education system — a problem that is anticipated to worsen. According to projections published by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s office, the teacher shortage will be compounded throughout the next decade, with over 100,000 teachers retiring — more than one third of the teacher workforce.

Not only are there not enough teachers, but many of those currently teaching math are serving out of their particular subject-matter expertise. Faced with a no-win situation, many districts are assigning English, history and art instructors, or even teachers with emergency credentials to math classes – a practice which ultimately impacts the quality of education students receive. In fact, it is estimated that nearly 1,500 mathematics classes were taught by teachers with no teaching credential. According to a recent report by the National Science Foundation, California scored seventh from the bottom in the comparison of the country’s eight grade mathematics students.
The Solution:

“It is essential that California’s teachers receive the education, tools and support they need to better educate our state’s K-12 mathematics students,” said Gary W. Matkin, Ph.D., dean of continuing education at UC Irvine. “Given that a significant number of teachers do not pass the CSET on their first attempt due to a lack of familiarity with the content and/or the format of the exams, our new Math CSET preparation courses will help teachers identify areas requiring further study, or serve as a content refresher, in an effort to help them pass the examination on the first attempt.”
The no-cost resource, available now at http://ocw.uci.edu/courses/AR0111006/, includes preparation courses for the following exams: CSET Mathematics Subtest I, CSET Mathematics Subtest II and CSET Mathematics III.