A Coming Crisis in Teaching? Teacher Supply, Demand, and Shortages in the U.S. Research Brief

Learning Policy Institute. 1530 Page Mill Road Suite 200, Palo Alto, CA 94304. Tel: 650-332-9797; e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: https://learningpolicyinstitute.org

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S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation

Teacher Supply and Demand; Teacher Shortage; Intellectual Disciplines; Minority Group Teachers; Institutional Characteristics; Student Characteristics; Labor Market; Geographic Location; Teacher Salaries; Beginning Teachers; Teaching Conditions; Faculty Mobility; Costs; Educational Policy; Teacher Persistence; Teacher Student Ratio; Public Schools; Job Security; Professional Autonomy; Labor Turnover; Teacher Retirement; Teacher Characteristics; Geographic Regions; Teacher Attitudes; Teacher Education; Mentors; Beginning Teacher Induction; Minority Group Students

Recent media reports of teacher shortages across the country are confirmed by the analysis of several national datasets reported in this brief. Shortages are particularly severe in special education, mathematics, science, and bilingual/English learner education, and in locations with lower wages and poorer working conditions. Shortages are projected to grow based on declines in teacher education enrollments, coupled with student enrollment growth, efforts to reduce pupil-teacher ratios, and ongoing high attrition rates. If attrition were reduced by half to rates comparable to those in high-achieving nations, shortages would largely disappear. We describe evidence-based policies that could: (1) create competitive, equitable compensation packages for teachers; (2) enhance the supply of qualified teachers for high-need fields and locations; (3) improve retention, especially in hard-to-staff schools; and (4) develop a national teacher supply market. [For the full report, see ED606666.]

As Provided

2020

ED606665