The third in our Lessons Learned series of reports on new teachers finds two specific areas in which teacher training may be lacking: preparedness for the diversity of the contemporary American classroom and teaching students with special needs.

Seventy-six percent of first-year teachers told researchers that teaching an ethnically diverse student body was covered in their training, but only 39 percent said that training helps them a lot in the classroom. The survey covered twelve areas of teacher training ranging from direct instruction to their study of history, philosophy, and policy debates in public education.

Lessons Learned is produced by Public Agenda and the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality.