New data from a federal education workforce survey shows that most schools struggled to fill at least one fully certified teaching position this fall.
Public schools reported having six teacher vacancies on average in August, according to survey responses School pulse panel by the National Center for Educational Statistics. About 20 percent of those positions remained vacant when the school year began.
The two most common challenges schools said they faced when hiring were a lack of qualified candidates and too few applicants. Special education, physical sciences, and English as a second language were some of the most difficult areas to cover.
NCES Commissioner Peggy Carr said in a news release that while the percentage of schools that said it was difficult to fill positions decreased (down 5 percentage points from 79 percent last year) “there is still room for improvement.” . Nearly 1,400 K-12 public schools across the country responded to the survey.
While comparison with previous years suggests that hiring is becoming easier, Megan Boren of the Southern Regional Education Council says the country is still suffering from a teacher shortage.
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Borenwho leads the organization's teacher workforce data and policy work, says it would be a mistake to think of the teacher shortage only in terms of filled positions versus unfilled positions. Other factors to consider include schools' geographic regions, academic subjects, and student age groups where shortages are prevalent.
The organization also takes into account the demographics of teachers, the number of candidates graduating from teacher preparation programs, alternative certification programs, and their level of preparation.
“When we think of this simply as a body count, we're not looking at the whole problem and, to be honest, we're doing a disservice to our students and our own educators.” Boren says. “Of utmost importance is the quality and preparation with which we are filling some of these vacancies, or that we have in front of our classrooms, and the distribution of that talent.”
Boren expressed concern about schools turning to uncertified teachers to fill staffing gaps, whether they are candidates with emergency certifications or long-term substitute teachers. Their inexperience can put pressure on the more experienced teachers and administrators who support them, he explains, at a time when both administrators and graduates of traditional teacher preparation say that even new, fully certified teachers feel less prepared than those of years. previous.
Schools in high-poverty neighborhoods or with a student body that is majority (75 percent or more) students of color filled a smaller percentage of their seats with fully certified teachers, according to NCES data.
“It's a firestorm where people are saying, 'What can we do to put out the fire and then rebuild?'” Boren says, “and unfortunately, we're seeing in some cases that the measures and strategies that are being taken to put out the fire The fires are actually making it worse and exacerbating the problems of our educators and leaders.”
She says there is no single factor that has led to the teacher shortage, but rather interrelated issues including pandemic-related mental health stress, pressure to fill vacant staff positions, and lack of time for collaboration and planning.
The teacher shortage did not start with the pandemic, Boren he explains, as his organization tracked a teacher turnover rate ranging between 7 and 9 percent before 2020. But he says the pandemic accelerated turnover, with some regions in the South now experiencing 18 percent turnover among teachers. teachers.
“Some regions of the states have started to stem the tide, but overall business volume is increasing,” Boren says.
