This study, commissioned by The Abell Foundation, analyzes new teachers hired by the Baltimore City Public School System over the past several years. In particular, the study compares different categories of new teachers: those with full professional certification, teachers in alternative certification programs (Teach for America, the BCPSS Teaching Residency Program, and Project SITE SUPPORT), and conditionally (formerly provisionally) certified teachers who were not participating in alternative programs. Although this preliminary study cannot link teacher characteristics to student achievement directly, it lays the foundation for
future research in which this relationship can be examined.