This study was conducted at the request of education policymakers who participate in the Montana Rural Recruitment and Retention Task Force. Like many states, Montana is struggling to recruit and retain qualified educators, especially in certain subject areas and in more rural parts of the state. The purpose of this study is to provide information…

The Rockefeller Institute of Government is conducting a multistate examination of potential supply and demand issues for teachers. In other words, are states facing teaching shortages around the country? This report, the second state-specific review, is an initial overview of the P-12 teacher labor market in New York State (NYS). It examines the…

Primary and secondary schools across the nation are becoming increasingly heterogeneous, yet the teacher population remains homogenous. In fairness, this is not a new issue: At the turn of the century, Whites represented a significant aggregate of the teacher population: 73% in the inner city; 81% in suburban schools; 91% in small towns; and 98%…

Since 1970 the number of teachers has increased 51.9 percent, while the number of students has increased 9.5 percent. In 1970, the student/teacher ratio was 22.3 and it is significantly lower at 16.1 today. Although there are projections indicating an increased demand for teachers going forward, the overall projections do not necessarily create a…

School districts across the country are struggling to attract and keep good teachers, a situation that seems to be particularly acute in states such as California and Oklahoma. This is not a good time for schools to be facing a teacher shortage. States have raised K-12 standards to new heights with the expectation that all students will graduate…

Working with the South Dakota Department of Education, the authors have begun collecting data to pinpoint where potential shortages and turnover of teachers are as a way to lay the foundation of targeted solutions in specific areas. Given the data collection process, they have broken the study into two phases: (1) Phase one: is a…

This study examines and compares the recruitment, employment, and retention of minority and nonminority school teachers over the past quarter century. The objective of the study is to empirically ground the debate over minority teacher shortages. The data analyzed are from the National Center for Education Statistics' nationally representative…

With the U.S. facing a national teacher shortage that is projected to grow substantially in the coming years, school systems across the country are grappling with the challenge of building and maintaining a high-quality teacher workforce for all students. While school leaders and policymakers might be tempted to solve shortages by focusing solely…

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…

Enacting changes without considering essential educational components such as number of teachers, non-teaching staff, and classes can lead to problems in education systems. One common problem is an inadequate number of teachers. In response to this, policy makers often create out-of-field teacher employment to meet the teacher shortages. While…

In the U.S., STEM subjects--science, technology, engineering, and math--face urgent needs for great STEM teachers and well-educated students. An Opportunity Culture can help by extending the reach of excellent STEM teachers already in our schools and creating a teaching profession that attracts and retains these teachers through higher pay, within…

The number and percentage of students of color are growing in Washington state, yet the teacher workforce remains largely White (non-Hispanic). This means that few students of color have teachers who share their race or ethnicity, which could have consequences for student achievement and wellbeing. To better understand the state's shortage of…

This Study Snapshot highlights key findings from a study exploring the state's shortage of teachers of color. The study investigated six steps in the teacher preparation and career pathway at which teacher candidates and teachers are likely to drop out or leave the profession: three teacher preparation tests, certification, employment, and…

The "Pathways to Teaching: Teacher Diversity, Testing, Certification, and Employment in Washington State" study examined the state's shortage of teachers of color. The study investigated six steps in the teacher preparation and career pathway at which teacher candidates and teachers are likely to drop out or leave the profession: three…

In a country with an increasing population of nonwhite students, there are far too few teachers of color. The numbers are particularly distressing when it comes to finding male teachers of color, who are essential role models for black boys. As a result, black and Latino children sitting in classrooms with white teachers, day after day and year…