Teacher Preparation in Texas
TEACHER RETENTION When are teachers leaving the classroom? Is attrition associated with teacher characteristics or preparation route? Once quality teachers are recruited into classrooms, retaining them must become a high priority. Although research has revealed factors that can influence teacher retention, most of the data available to understand which teachers leave, why they leave, and where they go is outdated, unavailable or restricted. One unfortunate trend has held steady for 15 years: about 10% of newly hired teachers are not teaching in Texas public schools the following academic year (Smith, 2021a). School Characteristics Understanding the relationship between school characteristics and teacher retention can reveal factors that impact teachers’ decisions to leave the profession. The National Teacher and Principal Survey (previously the Schools and Staffing Survey [SASS]) administered by the National Center for Education Statistics is the most widely used dataset to examine teacher retention; however, this survey has not been administered in a format that allows for retention tracking since 2011, making the available data over a decade old. According to the SASS, attrition for teachers assigned to high-poverty schools is higher than for teachers at lower-poverty schools, with a total of 22% of teachers in high-poverty schools moving schools or leaving the profession in just one year compared to 12% of teachers at low-poverty schools (Kena, et al., 2016). This result is supported by research specific to Texas that found that teachers in mid-high and high-poverty schools were more likely than teachers at low-poverty schools to leave their schools within three years (Reyes & Alexander, 2017). Figure 14. Percentage of Teachers who Moved Campuses or Left the Profession: Academic Year 2012–2013 Low-Poverty Schools
Mid-low Poverty Schools
Mid-high Poverty Schools
High Poverty Schools 22%
12% 6%
6%
9%
6%
8%
10%
12%
14%
15%
7%
Source: (Kena, et al., 2016)
18
