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November 19, 2004
A new report by the Center for American Progress and the Institute for America's Future shows that the nation's poorest school districts suffer disproportionately from early departures of qualified teachers. Why? Low compensation, inadequate support from school administration, intrusions on classroom teaching time and limited faculty input into school decision making force many good teachers to leave. Findings from the report include:
- High-poverty public schools lose one fifth of their faculty each year. Our review of the data shows that large numbers of qualified teachers leave poor school districts every year. In some cases, a school's entire staff could turnover within just a few years.
- Compensation is only part of the story for why good teachers leave poor schools. Teachers in high-poverty schools are often paid less than in other kinds of schools and depart accordingly. But, significant numbers of those who depart from their jobs in these schools also report that they are hampered by inadequate support from the school administration, too many intrusions on classroom teaching time, student discipline problems and limited faculty input into school decision-making.
- Increased recruiting will not solve the problems of teacher retention. Our analysis suggests that recruiting more teachers will not solve staffing inadequacies if large numbers of such teachers then leave the profession. If schools want to ensure that all students are taught by qualified teachers, then they must be concerned about low teacher retention rates.
Daily Talking Points is a product of the American Progress Action Fund. |
Daily Talking Points is a product of the American Progress Action Fund. |
