Current State of the Teacher Workforce
In October 2018, Richard Ingersoll updated his landmark report, The Transformation of the Teaching Force. The most recent findings point to serious implications for the workforce. Ingersoll states that it should serve as a wake-up call to better understand the problems teachers face today.
Findings By // Richard Ingersoll
Professor of Education and Sociology,
University of Pennsylvania GSE
The teacher workforce is
larger than it was 30 years ago
The rate of increase for teachers has far outpaced the rate of increase for students.
Why are there more teachers?
Increased demand for:
- smaller class sizes
- more STEM specialists
- more special education teachers
- more ESL teachers
65% increase of public school teachers,
24% increase of public school students.
1 in 10 teachers leave after their first year.
But teachers are leaving the
workforce at an alarming rate
First-year teachers are leaving before they’ve had the chance to gain more experience so they can teach effectively.
Turnover rate for teachers of color is around 20%.
While the percentage of teachers of color increased from 13.1% in 1987-88 to 19.9% in 2015-16, teachers of color are leaving the profession at high rates.
While the percentage of teachers of color increased from 13.1% in 1987-88 to 19.9% in 2015-16, teachers of color are leaving the profession at high rates.
Schools experiencing the highest rates of turnover tend to be low-income, majority students of color, urban and rural public schools.
½ of all public school teacher turnover occurs in 25% of the population of schools.
8 Comments
Chloe Buckelr Henry
Verified Profile
I wonder if the culture of millennials wanting to switch careers more frequently than other generations plays a role in the increase of teachers leaving the field.
Abigail Scott
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I was certainly surprised to read about the extent to which teachers are opting out of their commitments to stay at their schools, which is quite troubling. However, this raises a fundamental (and controversial) question that I have been wresting with which is: maybe it is preferable that teachers ill-equipped, unprepared, or unqualified to teach students with necessary levels of professionalism are removing themselves from the classroom? That is, some might find encouragement to know that many teachers have enough self-awareness to know when they are no longer serving as effective leaders in the classroom. Therefore, this paves the way for recruiting committed, passionate, and community-minded individuals to fill this void.
Kelley Whelan
Unverified Profile
Anybody entering a new field, ie teaching, who is excited to be there and wants to make a difference for the better is typically not interested in swimming against the tide of frustration, lack of training, lack of accountability, or lack of respect; all of these things are ominous mountains of discouragement and discontentment.
John Hayes
Verified Profile
Unfortunately, the hight turnover rates in low-income, minority, urban, or rural schools is not surprising. Teachers are dealing with more outside factors and negative influences than they would at more prosperous schools. In addition to low pay and prestige, I can understand how many burnout, especially when faced with societal impacts outside of their control. Even the greatest teachers can’t be superheroes all the time and to every student.
Tyson Rhodes
Verified Profile
The turnover rate among teachers of color is really interesting. I wonder if this is because they are more likely to work in low-income, minority-majority, urban schools or are there other reasons? I wish the article went more into depth about why the turnover rate was at 20%.
Susie Herrera
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If there are such high turnover rates at some schools, I wonder what continues to keep us from making the changes necessary to improve teacher retention and teacher preparation for teaching in those classrooms which can be considered to be more difficult. I also think that there may be lack of transparency about what is going on in those schools. Sure, some teachers may be less willing to take on a job at a school that is more challenging but at the very least they would be informed. Being informed about the challenges that those students face would allow space for that teacher to gain support in areas they may not be ready to take on.
Kamaali Lama
Unverified Profile
I wonder if this has to do with the lack of training, guidance, and resources available to teachers? I would imagine first-year teachers would need even more support and guidance, and lack thereof would make teachers feel like they are not fit for the job and that they could not help all the students in need. This would be even more prevalent in areas where students have more needs, hence the higher turnover rates in those areas.
Danielle Goodman
Verified Profile
“Schools experiencing the highest rates of turnover tend to be low-income, majority students of color, urban and rural public schools.”
What can we do as policy makers to better equip teachers and educators in schools with the highest turnover rates? In order to keep students at the forefront of our priorities, we must also prioritize teachers and make sure their needs are being met.