Teacher Residencies in California - Enrollment, Preparation, and Outcomes of Residency-Prepared Teachers

Oct 15, 2026

Teacher residencies provide a clinically intensive preparation model designed to meet local needs. Residents partner for a full year with mentor teachers while completing credential coursework and receiving financial support from partner local education agencies. California has invested more than $740 million since 2018 in this residency approach, supported by state, federal, philanthropic, and district funding. The study analyzes residency experiences and outcomes from 2018–19 to 2024–25 and compares completers to teachers prepared through other pathways.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages12

Reading Time30 min

AccessFree to download

Summary

Introduction

Describing California’s Residency Pathway

California’s Rapid Growth in Residency Candidates

Teacher Residencies in California Enrollment, Preparation, and Outcomes of Residency-Prepared Teachers Susan Kemper Patrick, Tiffany S. Tan, Julie Fitz, and Cathy Yun JUNE 2026 Summary Teacher residencies offer a comprehensive preparation model addressing local needs. Residents work alongside an experienced mentor teacher for a full year while completing credential coursework. California has invested more than $740 million in the residency model since 2018, and residencies are also funded through other sources. This study examines California’s residency programs, analyzing the experiencesand outcomes of residents and comparing them to those of new teachers from other preparation pathways. The number of residents statewide has more than quadrupled between 2018–19 and 2024– 25, now accounting for 10% of teaching candidates. This analysis finds that California’s residencies recruit a racially diverse teacher workforce, offer better-supported clinical experiences, and are highly rated by their graduates. Compared to other new teachers, residents have higher passing rates on the California Teaching Performance Assessment, have higher entry rates into teaching while working in schools serving more economically disadvantaged students and students of color, and have higher retention rates in their schools and districts. Introduction Teacher residencies offer clinically intensive preparation developed in partnership between local education agencies (LEAs) and preparation programs to address local needs. Residents get considerable classroom experience working alongside a mentor teacher for a full year while taking credential coursework and receiving financial support from the partner LEA. Research in California and elsewhere, often focused on a single program, finds that teacher residencies tend to prepare a racially diverse candidate pool and produce teachers who, on average, are more effective and stay in teaching longer than new teachers from other pathways.1 In California, most residencies are structured as 1-year, postbaccalaureate programs in which residents spend the full year in their placement school while completing aligned teacher preparation coursework.2 Starting in 2018, California began making significant state investments to subsidize teacher preparation and encourage residency programs, allocating more than $740 million between 2018 and 2025 for the Teacher Residency Grant Program (TRGP) . During the first 5 years of funding, 2,601 TRGP-funded residents enrolled in preparation programs across California, with thousands more expected to enroll in grant-funded programs between 2024 and 2029.3 Federal and local funding sources have also helped grow California’s residencies. For example, the U.S. Department of Education’s Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP) Program awarded over $140 million to California-based preparation partnerships between 2018 and 2024, though many of these grants were canceled by the federal government in 2025. Philanthropic funds have also supported hundreds of candidates in the California State University (CSU) Residency Year Scholarship program. In some cases, districts have strategically invested their own funds in residency programs outside the context of grants. Given these many investments in a relatively new model of preparation, it is critical to better understand the landscape of residency programs across California and the experiences and outcomes of residency completers throughout the state. These analyses leverage data sources provided by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) and the California Department of Education (CDE) that identify residents and residency programs, though there are notable challenges with these data.4 Focusing on the 2018–19 to 2024–25 years, we examine the statewide growth of teacher residency programs and describe preparation experiences as reported by completers. Analyses also compare outcomes for residency-prepared teachers to

FAQs

How do teacher residencies in California prepare residents during the yearlong placement?

Residents work full-time alongside a mentor teacher in their placement school for a full year while completing aligned credential coursework and receiving financial support from the partner local education agency.

What state funding did California provide for the residency model starting in 2018?

California allocated more than $740 million between 2018 and 2025 for the Teacher Residency Grant Program (TRGP), supporting thousands of enrolled residents over the funding period.

How do residency-prepared teachers compare with teachers from other preparation pathways?

The analysis finds higher passing rates on the California Teaching Performance Assessment, higher entry rates into teaching in schools serving more economically disadvantaged students and students of color, and higher retention rates in their schools and districts.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Aria Callaghan