In the United States, teacher shortages have escalated to a 23-year peak, characterized by an annual attrition rate of 11%. Education Week has reported on a recent study that identifies low salaries, inadequate working conditions, and dependence on contract teachers as primary contributors to the problem.
The United States is facing a major teacher shortage problem — the rate at which teachers are resigning is at its highest in 23 years, with an annual exit rate of 11 percent, a recent research study reported by the Education Week. The decline in the attrition rate was followed in 2021-22 during the Covid period.
The teacher shortage and its contributing factors were discussed at a conference last November organized by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management in Washington.
US districts are facing the teacher attrition challenge in schools across the nation. Factors like low pay, contract teachers, and poor working conditions are fueling the issue, according to the study led by Joshua Bleiberg from the University of Pittsburgh and Tuan Nguyen from the University of Kansas.
Teacher attrition analysis across 40 states covers the five-year period from 2016 to 2021. Joshua Bleiberg (University of Pittsburgh) and Tuan Nguyen (University of Kansas) are investigating the impact of teacher salary and local economic conditions on turnover. Their study incorporates teacher attrition data from 40 states covering the period from 2016 to 2021, as well as supplementary information from 2021 to 2023 regarding salaries and local economies.
Although attrition decreased during the early years of the pandemic, it surged to over 11% in 2021-22, marking the highest rate since 1999. Although there are indications of stabilization, Bleiberg emphasizes that the gap between districts continues to be substantial.
The national data on staff shortages remains unhelpful for schools and district leaders, as it does not provide a clear picture of local hiring prospects for teachers.
MAJOR ISSUES AFFECTING ATTRITION RATE
The study identified significant contributors to teacher attrition in the US, including the large salary gap, poor working conditions, and a rise in contract teaching.
From 2007 to 2011, Quentin Brummet at the University of Chicago’s Connect National Online Resource Centre (NORC) monitored 6,200 new teachers in Oregon by linking school records with federal tax data. His research revealed a distinct pattern: the initial salaries that teachers received influenced their financial trajectories for years thereafter.
Teachers who fell into the highest earning bracket started with salaries that were as much as $40,000 greater than those of their colleagues in the lowest-paid quartile. Unless a teacher relocated to a higher-paying district or exited the state entirely, these gaps seldom changed over the subsequent five years. The results emphasize a straightforward reality: your starting point often determines your potential destination, at least regarding salary.
The research showed that there is a strong connection between salaries and attrition. Brummet, the research organization, demonstrated that teachers who began their careers earning salaries in the bottom 25 percent are likely to transfer to another school.
The same research pointed out that novice teachers earning less who have partners with higher incomes are likely to change jobs. It also discovered that working conditions are consistently poor and have not improved since the pandemic; in fact, they are deteriorating more rapidly than before, at least in one state.
From 2017 to 2019, teachers indicated that their working conditions were stable or improving; however, there was a decline from 2019 to 2021 and further deterioration since 2021.
In order to cope with the lack of teachers, numerous districts in the US now utilize staffing agencies that are profit-oriented. Research conducted by Angela Cox at Vanderbilt revealed that contract teachers in Oregon earn significantly lower salaries (annual earnings of $42,000 compared to $78,500 for district-employed teachers), possess less experience, and hold fewer qualifications.
Since 2011, the pay gap has expanded by $25,000, with contract positions frequently being temporary and unstable, much like those of contract nurses.
One challenge is hiring teachers; another is retaining them. For a long time, school districts have been in competition for competent teachers, and the pandemic may have heightened teacher turnover.
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