Tapping the Potential - Alliance for Excellent Education

TA P P I N G T H E P O T E N T I A L : R E TA I N I N G A N D D E V E L O P I N G H I G H - Q U A L I T Y N E W T E A C H E R SThe bottom line is this: All students,especially those at risk of failure, need ahigh-quality teacher in order to achievehigh standards and to graduate with theskills needed to succeed in college or theworkforce. The economic and social successof our country depends on it.Leaky Buckets Can’t Hold Water:New Teacher AttritionOver the past decade, education expertshave focused on a perceived teacher shortage.The shortage has been attributed tolarge numbers of baby boomers retiring,increased student enrollment, and statesreducing class sizes. 44 Common sense tellseducators they have a problem becausethey constantly need to hire new teachersand cannot find suitable candidates.But the problem is not a teachershortage per se. Schools do not generallylack newly credentialed candidates tochoose from; instead, they are rapidlylosing the newly hired teachers theyalready have. In other words, schools areleaky buckets losing existing teachersfaster than they can take in new ones.Indeed, the market has more candidatesto fill open positions than it has positionsthemselves. Over the past ten years,the number of new teachers entering theworkforce has rapidly increased. 45The real crisis is created by the largenumber of beginning teachers who leavethe profession—teacher attrition—beforethey can become the kind of high-qualityteachers who consistently improve studentlearning. Currently, the rate of attritionamong beginning teachers is astronomical.Research by education researcher RichardIngersoll shows that• 14 percent of first-time teachers quit inthe first year;• within three years, 33 percent willleave; and• after five years—the average time ittakes for teachers to maximize their students’learning—half of all new teacherswill have exited the profession. 46High rates of attrition like these mean thatfor every two new teachers a school districthires, one of them will completely drop out ofthe profession in five years—just at the timethey are able to consistently improve studentachievement.Leaky Buckets Are Not Cheap:The Cost of AttritionWhile experts debate the severity ofteacher attrition compared to other industries,they cannot dispute the cost:• Every year American schools spendapproximately $2.6 billion on teacherattrition. Using the most conservativeindustry model approved by theDepartment of Labor, the cost ofrecruiting, hiring, and training a newteacher is approximately 30 percent ofthe exiting teacher’s salary—a cost thatis not recoverable. 47 Using the mostrecent national data from the NationalCommission on Teaching and America’sFuture, this report estimates that forevery teacher who leaves, the school districtspends approximately $12,500.Other researchers price attrition from$13,000 to $50,000 per teacher whenaccounting for losses in teacher qualityand student achievement. 48• When beginners leave before theybecome high-quality veterans, anyinvestment in teacher professionaldevelopment is lost. Taxpayers wind uppaying more than they would if qualityteachers remained in the profession inthe first place.All students, especiallythose at risk of failure,need a high-qualityteacher in order to achievehigh standards and tograduate with the skillsneeded to succeed incollege or the workforce.The economic and socialsuccess of our countrydepends on it.Every year Americanschools spendapproximately $2.6 billionon teacher attrition.7