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Without changes in current policies, U.S. teacher shortages are projected to grow in the coming years. Teacher turnover is an important source of these shortages. About 8% of teachers leave the profession each year, two-thirds of them for reasons other than retirement. Another 8% shift to different schools each year. In addition to aggravating teacher shortages, high turnover rates lower student achievement and are costly for schools. This brief examines turnover trends and causes and concludes that policies to stem teacher turnover should target compensation, teacher preparation and support, and teaching conditions.
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As students return to school this year, many will be in one of the more than 100,000 classrooms across the country staffed by an instructor not fully qualified to teach. This shortage of qualified teachers is almost entirely due to teachers leaving the profession and about 2/3 of teachers who leave do so for reasons other than retirement. This study looks at who is leaving, why, who is impacted, and policy considerations.
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When students return to school in the upcoming weeks, many will enter one of the more than 100,000 classrooms across the country staffed by an instructor who is not fully qualified to teach. This is because many districts, facing ongoing teacher shortages, are hiring underqualified candidates to fill vacancies. While shortages tend to draw attention to recruitment issues, a new report, just released by the Learning Policy Institute (LPI), finds that 90% of the nationwide demand for teachers is created when teachers leave the profession. Some are retiring, but about two thirds of teachers leave for other reasons. Addressing early attrition is critical to stemming the country's continuing teacher shortage crisis.
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The National Writing Project’s College, Career, and Community Writers Program demonstrates the power of effective professional development. Through this program, experienced teachers share their knowledge, and the collective program knowledge and resources with new program participants, providing the type of leadership opportunity that research shows can be critical to the growth and satisfaction of veteran educators.
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Black teacher turnover rates are significantly higher than those of other teachers in the United States. A chapter in the new book Black Female Teachers: Diversifying the United States’ Teacher Workforce, reports on what causes these higher rates and what policy interventions might bring Black teachers back into the profession, including teacher residencies, loan forgiveness, mentoring and induction, and principal training programs.
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Principals are essential to improving student achievement and narrowing persistent achievement gaps. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) provides opportunities for states to use federal funds to invest in developing and supporting effective school leaders, such as supporting their recruitment, preparation, and training using the optional state set-aside under Title II. This brief summarizes the evidence about the importance of principals, describes research-based practices in leadership development, and outlines promising, evidence-based investments from submitted and draft ESSA state plans.
Linda Darling-HammondMaria E. HylerMadelyn Gardner
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Well-designed and implemented professional development is an essential component of a comprehensive system of teaching and learning that supports students to develop the knowledge, skills, and competencies they need to thrive in the 21st century. This report details key components of effective professional development and offers rich descriptions of model programs to inform education leaders and policymakers seeking to leverage professional development to improve student learning.
Linda Darling-HammondMaria E. HylerMadelyn Gardner
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Twenty-first-century learning requires sophisticated forms of teaching to develop student competencies, such as deep mastery of challenging content, critical thinking, complex problem-solving, effective communication and collaboration, and self-direction. Effective professional development is needed to help teachers learn and refine the pedagogies required to teach these skills, but research has noted that many professional development initiatives appear ineffective. This fact sheet answers the question: What are the features of effective professional development?
Linda Darling-HammondMaria E. HylerMadelyn Gardner
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Well-designed and implemented professional development is an essential component of a comprehensive system of teaching and learning that supports students to develop the knowledge, skills, and competencies they need to thrive in the 21st century. This brief outlines key components of effective professional development and offers rich descriptions of model programs to inform education leaders and policymakers seeking to leverage professional development to improve student learning.
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A study released by the Learning Policy Institute demonstrates how well-designed teacher professional development programs significantly improve student achievement, challenging the logic behind the Administration’s proposal to eliminate funding for those programs The new report, "Effective Teacher Professional Development," reviewed 35 scientifically rigorous studies conducted over the past 30 years which showed significant gains in student achievement resulting from teacher development programs.
