California Department of Education, Special Education Division’s special project, California Services for Technical Assistance and Training (CalSTAT) is funded through a contract with the Napa County Office of Education. CalSTAT is partially funded from federal funds, State Grants #H027A080116A. Additional federal funds are provided from a federal competitively awarded State Personnel Development Grant to California (#H323A070011) provided from the U.S. Department of Education Part D of the Individuals with Disabilities Education act (IDEA). Opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the position of the U. S. Department of Education.
TEACH California Website
The TEACH California website, www.teachcalifornia.org, was established in 2004 to help in addressing the continuing teacher shortage in California. The Institutions of Higher Education (IHE) Leadership Project, funded by the California Department of Education (CDE), is focused on delivering information resources to potential teachers via the convenient interface of teachcalifornia.org.
TEACH California is part of California’s special education teacher recruitment effort, funded by the five-year State Personnel Development Grant (SPDG), offering additional information and materials to bolster teacher recruitment in all areas, particularly special education, math and science. It has been administrated by CalSTAT (California Services for Technical Assistance and Training) and operated by the Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE) since it was established in March, 2004. Starting in Year 4 of SPDG (July 2011 to June 2012), SCOE will take full control of the TEACH California website.
After five years of operation, the website has seen nearly 2.7 million visits, from nearly 1.5 million visitors, generating over 8.6 million page views, and continues to be a resource attracting an average of approximately 1,000 visits per day.
| Prior to SPDG | Year 1 2008-09 |
Year 2 2009-10 |
Year 3 2010-11 |
Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Website Visits | 1,769,000 | 274,000 | 321,000 | 316,000 | 2,680,000 |
| Unique Visitors | 980,000 | 169,000 | 167,000 | 172,000 | 1,488,000 |
| Visitors who made one visit | 776,000 | 146,000 | 145,000 | 148,000 | 1,215,000 |
| Visitors who made two visits | 103,000 | 14,000 | 12,000 | 13,000 | 142,000 |
| Visitors who made 3+ visits | 101,000 | 9,000 | 10,000 | 12,000 | 132,000 |
| Pages Viewed | 5,660,000 | 1,171,000 | 1,302,000 | 1,502,000 | 8,635,000 |
- Visits, visitors making three or more visits in the same month, and page views have all increased during the SPDG, while the overall number of unique visitors has been more consistent, year to year.
| Year 1 to Year 2 | Year 1 to Year 3 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | % | N | % | |
| Website Visits | +47,000 | 17% | +42,000 | 15% |
| Unique Visitors | -2,000 | -1% | +3,000 | 2% |
| Visitors who made one visit | 1,000 | -1% | +2,000 | 1% |
| Visitors who made two visits | -2 | -14% | -1,000 | -8% |
| Visitors who made 3+ visits | +1,000 | 11% | +3,000 | 29% |
| Pages Viewed | +131,000 | 11% | +331,000 | 28% |
Website Usage
A visit is a series of actions that begins when a visitor views the first page of the website, and ends when the visitors leaves the site. A single visit can be brief and cursory or extended and meaningful.
A visitor is someone who may visit the website one or many times. Unique visitors are tracked on a monthly basis, so an individual who visits several times over the course of the year may be counted as multiple “unique visitors.”
- The number of visits and visitors are both more modest under the SPDG than they were when funded under the SPDG’s predecessor grants (State Improvement Grants SIG and SIG2).
- A seasonal cycle when visits and visitors both swelled in the spring and declined in the winter (perhaps following the school cycle, with graduates contemplating post-graduate degrees and looking for jobs as the spring semester concluded) appears to have diminished.
- While it appeared that the number of visits was trending upward in Year 2 from a all-time low in Year 1, they seem to have stabilized in Year 3.
- The trendline for visits has remained relatively constant during the entire SPDG, hovering between 11,000 and 17,000 unique visitors per month.
The TEACH California website includes a number of pages offering different content. The entry page of the website was the highest-traffic page with almost 352,253 visits so far since July 2008 (122,873 visits in Year 3), and is excluded from the chart.
- The Understanding the Requirements pages are among the most popular resources offered by the TEACH California website, describing what is needed to earn various teaching credentials. Single-subject credentials were most popular, followed by multiple-subject credentials (interest in this page is declining slightly), and special education credentials (in which interest is increasing).
- The Find a Teaching Job was also very popular, and offers both advice and links to resources for teachers seeking a position.
- Two new pages were introduced in Year 1 that were among the ten most-visited pages, both of which received more visits in Year 3 than in Year 2. These were the Distinguished Teachers page (which includes brief descriptions of real teachers and their messages to future or new teachers) and the High-Need Subject Areas page (which draws particular focus to special education, mathematics, and science).
- There has been declining interest in the Make and Follow Your Plan page, from 15,188 visits in Year 1 to 10,903 visits in Year 3.
Make and Follow Your Plan
The “Make and Follow Your Plan” page helps potential teachers who may be “confused by all the different teaching requirements” by helping them create a “personal plan and checklist” to obtain the necessary education, credentials, and supports to become a teacher. It also allows visitors to register, creating an account that allows them to build and revisit a personalized checklist tailored around the potential teacher and his or her individual career goals.
While visits to the main “Make and Follow Your Plan” page have been declining since Year 1 (though still nearly 11,000 in Year 3), the number of users registering for the first time has increased considerably. This coincides with an increase in the mailing of outreach materials (such as recruitment pamphlets and bookmarks) starting in December 2010 and peaking with the distribution of 11,000 bookmarks in May 2011.
As was noted on page one, the number of unique visitors accessing the TEACH California website has decreased, other measures of traffic have increased, especially the number of visitors making three or more visits in a month. New features like the “Make and Follow Your Plan” registration and checklist may be driving this trend.
- Starting with January 2011, the number of registrations per month surged from a relatively steady trend of between 40 and 100 per month, peaking with 257 new users in March.
| Type | Number | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Career Changer | 1,009 users | 31% |
| Graduate Student | 578 users | 18% |
| Community College Students | 472 users | 14% |
| Undergraduate Student | 443 users | 13% |
| Paraeducator | 85 users | 3% |
| K-12 Student | 31 users | 1% |
| Administrator | 15 users | < 1% |
| Other | 645 users | 20% |
- 46% registered users described themselves as college students, including 13% who were working on an undergraduate degree.
- Career changers and paraeducators were another large block of registered users.
| Credential | Number | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Single Subject (Secondary) | 1,792 users | 43% |
| Multiple Subject (Elementary) | 1,479 users | 36% |
| Education Specialist | 473 users | 12% |
| Pupil Personnel | 157 users | 4% |
| Administrative Services | 90 users | 2% |
| Adult Education and Career Technical Education (VocEd) | 74 users | 2% |
| Speech-Language Pathology Services | 39 users | 1% |
| Clinical Rehabilitative Services | 18 users | < 1% |
- Most users registered with a goal of seeking a teaching credential, either single subject (43%) or multiple subject (36%).
Because users create checklists tailored to their unique situation, data was available on the highly detailed “pathways” of users. Of the 35 unique pathways generated, the ones most common were:
- College Graduate Planning an Elementary School Teaching Career (389 users)
- College Student Planning an Elementary School Teaching Career (301 users)
- Changing Careers, Single-subject (256 users)
- Credential/License from Another State (176 users)
Visitor Survey
A survey greets visitors to the TEACH California website in a “pop-up” window on the “Welcome” page. The survey asks visitors eight short questions to collect demographic information and about their interest in teaching. Because many web browsers are configured to disable pop-up windows, many visitors will not have an opportunity to respond to the survey; however, collected responses may be representative.
| Age | Number | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Over 45 Years Old | 1,930 respondents | 15% |
| 36-45 Years Old | 2,522 respondents | 19% |
| 25-36 Years Old | 5,224 respondents | 40% |
| Under 25 Years Old | 3,436 respondents | 26% |
| Type | Number | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Female | 9,313 respondents | 72% |
| Male | 3,593 respondents | 28% |
| Type | Number | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Caucasian/White | 7,464 respondents | 58% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 2,039 respondents | 16% |
| African American | 1,079 respondents | 8% |
| Asian | 912 respondents | 7% |
| Filipino/Pacific Islander | 336 respondents | 3% |
| Alaskan Native/American Indian | 116 respondents | 1% |
| Middle Eastern | 115 respondents | 1% |
| Other | 841 respondents | 6% |
- While 40% of survey respondents were between the ages of 25 and 35, over a third were older visitors, potentially representing career-changers rather than students.
- 72% of visitors described themselves as female, which is consistent with the gender characteristic of teachers currently working. According to the DataQuest “staffing” report for 2009-10 (the most recent available), 73% of California teachers are female.
- Visitors to TEACH California website are slightly more diverse than teachers currently working (visitors were 58% white compared with 69% of California teachers). All other groups were a bit more represented in the survey than in schools today.
| Type | Number | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Career changer with a college degree | 4,588 | 36% |
| College student | 2,236 | 17% |
| Out-of state teacher | 1,526 | 12% |
| Credentialed teacher | 881 | 7% |
| Community college student | 823 | 6% |
| Other | 755 | 6% |
| Career changer without a college degree | 571 | 4% |
| Out-of country teacher | 541 | 4% |
| High school student | 250 | 2% |
| Paraeducator | 244 | 2% |
| Intern teacher | 222 | 2% |
| Out-of country | 139 | 1% |
| Counselor/Advisor | 92 | 1% |
| Middle school student | 43 | <1% |
Visitors were also asked to describe their career background. Responses indicate that many TEACH California visitors are mature professionals interested in teaching.
- Over a third of visitors were career changers, 36% with a college degree and 4% without.
- Out-of-state (12%) and out-of-country (4%) teachers were another key block of visitors, perhaps contemplating a moving to California.
- One in four visitors were currently students, led by college students 17%.
| Type | Number | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 10,918 respondents | 82% |
| No | 178 respondents | 1% |
| Not Applicable | 2,192 respondents | 17% |
| Age | Number | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 7,044 respondents | 53% |
| No | 3,311 respondents | 25% |
| Not Applicable | 2,933 respondents | 22% |
| Type | Number | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Elementary Teacher | 3,520 respondents | 28% |
| High School Teacher | 2,584 respondents | 21% |
| Special Education | 1,596 respondents | 13% |
| Math Teacher | 1,319 respondents | 10% |
| Science Teacher | 1,049 respondents | 8% |
| Middle School Teacher | 792 respondents | 6% |
| Speech-Language Pathologist | 96 respondents | 1% |
| Undecided | 1,689 respondents | 13% |
TEACH California visitors are overwhelmingly considering becoming teachers, with 82%. (N/A responses may indicate a respondent is already teaching). 53% are already taking steps to become a teacher, leaving 25% who have not yet started. 31% of visitors indicated an explicit interest in one of TEACH California’s targeted subject areas: special education, speech-language pathology, science, or math.
As seeking new visitors to the TEACH California website is a goal, it is helpful to know how visitors are currently becoming aware of the website.
| Type | Number | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Internet Search Engine | 5,604 respondents | 46% |
| College or University | 1,131 respondents | 9% |
| CalTeach Website | 992 respondents | 8% |
| CSU Website | 958 respondents | 8% |
| CDE Website | 770 respondents | 6% |
| Teacher | 677 respondents | 6% |
| ctc.ca.gov | 618 respondents | 5% |
| EdJoin.org | 519 respondents | 4% |
| Brochure | 317 respondents | 3% |
| California Teacher Preparation Program | 287 respondents | 3% |
| Counselor | 219 respondents | 2% |
- Internet search engines were cited by 46% of survey respondents. Comparing this with webtracking data summarized on page 10, these are liking to be overwhelmingly coming from Google.
- Student-oriented responses totalled 28%, including College of University (9%), CSU Website (8%), Teacher (6%), California Teacher Preparedness Program (3%), and Counselor (2%).
- Other partners in teacher recruitment totalled 23%, including CalTeach website (8%), CDE website (6%), Commission on Teacher Credentialling (ctc.ca.gov, 5%) and EdJoin.org (a project of the California County Superintendents Educational Services Association, 4%).
- While nearly 100,000 brochures referencing TEACH California, brochures were cited by only 3% of respondents. It is possible, however, that other responses involved brochures, such as a teacher or counselor handing out brochures.
Outreach Materials
TEACH California also offers a number of materials for educators and prospective teachers to order or download, with a distribution of nearly 200,000 over the first three years of the SPDG. Most of the materials are brochures, which are regularly revised to remain current, but other materials include a poster, video, and charts.
These materials are regularly shipped to college, junior college, and sometimes high school career centers. People seeking these materials, either in their capacity as an educator or as a prospective teacher, can also order physical copies delivered in the mail through an interactive form on the website, as well as download them electronically as an Adobe PDF file. There is also a video CD which can only be ordered as a physical copy, and there are also two Excel spreadsheets (xls) and one PowerPoint file (ppt) which can only be downloaded. The table below presents the distribution totals in both formats.
| Material | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Become a Special Educator | 7991 | 4655 | 4525 | 13788 | 2203 | 16259 | 49421 |
| Teach Math | 9486 | 881 | 4944 | 11646 | 5084 | 12254 | 44295 |
| Teach Science | 9237 | 414 | 4947 | 3903 | 2445 | 4029 | 24975 |
| Paraeducator | 6497 | 1247 | 2585 | 4731 | 663 | 7225 | 22948 |
| Bookmarks | 0 | 0 | 5524 | 0 | 15765 | 1498 | 22787 |
| Service Learning | 7084 | 340 | 2733 | 2370 | 1392 | 768 | 14687 |
| Steps to Become a Teacher Chart (xls) | n/a | 5557 | n/a | 6277 | n/a | 1162 | 12996 |
| Poster | 33 | 555 | 829 | 1047 | 83 | 946 | 3493 |
| CD Guide | 8 | 0 | 290 | 0 | 113 | 1141 | 1552 |
| Financial Aid Program Chart (xls) | n/a | 0 | n/a | 0 | n/a | 821 | 821 |
| One Child at a Time (CD) | 16 | n/a | 293 | n/a | 174 | n/a | 483 |
| TEACH California Web Site Tour (ppt) | n/a | 0 | n/a | 0 | n/a | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 40352 | 13649 | 26670 | 43762 | 27922 | 46103 | 198458 |
- The special educator (Become a Special Educator) and math teacher (Teach Math) recruitment brochures are the most-distributed materials offered by TEACH California, with each being shipped or downloaded roughly twice as much as other materials.
- About half-as-many recruitment brochures for science teachers and paraeducators have been distributed as for special education and math teachers, as well as bookmarks thanks to a large increase in the number mailed in SPDG Year 3.
- The TEACH California Web Site Tour PowerPoint showed no downloads in the last three years. This seems unlikely, though not impossible, and could indicate a problem involving the WebTrends software that monitors the TEACH California website.
Referred Visits from Other Websites
Web-tracking software also collected statistics on how visitors to the TEACH California website arrived, either directly or referred by another website. 60% of visits came directly to teachcalifornia.org, as when a visitors types in the url directly or accesses a bookmark. However, 126,179 visits started when a visitor clicked a link to teachcalifornia.org on another website. Those referring websites’ addresses were recorded, as this information is sometimes used to inform marketing decisions.
| Type | Number | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| 81,972 referrals | 65% | |
| Other Search Engines | 11,949 referrals | 10% |
| California Gov Website (ca.gov) | 6,780 referrals | 5% |
| College or University | 6,297 referrals | 5% |
| calstateteach.net | 4,530 referrals | 4% |
| Other Education-related Org | 4,337 referrals | 3% |
| Other Referrers | 1,199 referrals | 1% |
| Domains Referring Fewer than 100 Visits | 7,980 referrals | 6% |
- Search engines were the source of 3 out of 4 referred visits, led by Google (65% from Google alone, and another 10% from others, such as Yahoo and Bing). Search engines serving users in South Korea and China were also referrers.
- California government websites made the next most referrals, with 5%. Multiple state-maintained websites share the ca.gov domain, including the CDE.
- Other Education-related referrers were led by ecollege.com (1,412 referrals) and teachingtips.com (1,290 referrals). Other commercial websites were led by jobstar.org (795 referrals) and Facebook (198 referrals).
This document was developed for CalSTAT by the SPDG Evaluation Team of Cheryl “Li” Walter, PhD, and Alan Wood.
CalSTAT (California Services for Technical Assistance and Training), at Napa County Office of Education, is a special project of the California Department of Education, Special Education Division. Visit CalSTAT at http://www.calstat.org.
“California Department of Education, Special Education Division’s special project, California Services for Technical Assistance and Training (CalSTAT) is funded through a contract with the Napa County Office of Education. CalSTAT is partially funded from federal funds, State Grants #H027A080116A. Additional federal funds are provided from a federal competitively awarded State Personnel Development Grant to California (#H323A070011) provided from the U.S. Department of Education Part D of the Individuals with Disabilities Education act (IDEA).
“This project is supported by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). Opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the position of the U.S. Department of Education.”
