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Turnover is higher among early-career, uncertified, and certain subject and school groups, while higher salaries, supportive leadership, and greater job satisfaction reduce the likelihood of leaving.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & 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between 2020–21 and 2021–22?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"About 15.1% of U.S. teachers moved schools or left the profession: 8.0% moved schools and 7.1% left teaching between 2020–21 and 2021–22.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"Which teachers show higher turnover rates?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"Turnover is higher among early-career teachers, uncertified teachers, teachers of English as a Second Language, foreign languages, career and technical education, and special education, as well as teachers in city, charter, or high-poverty schools.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"What factors make teachers less likely to leave their schools?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"After accounting for teacher and school characteristics, higher salaries, more effective and supportive leadership, and higher job and workplace satisfaction are associated with lower likelihood of leaving their 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Desiree Carver-Thomas, and Emma García  \nMARCH 2026  \nSummary  \nTeacher turnover negatively impacts student achievement, contributes to shortages, strains schools, and undermines efforts to build a well-prepared, stable, and diverse teacher workforce. This brief examines patterns and drivers of teacher turnover in the United States. Findings show that about 1 in 7 public school teachers moved schools or left the profession between the 2020–21 and 2021–22 school years. Turnover rates were higher among early-career teachers; uncertified teachers; teachers teaching English as a Second Language, foreign languages, career and technical education, or special education; and teachers in city, charter, or high-poverty schools. After accounting for teacher and school characteristics, results show that teachers with higher salaries, more effective and supportive leadership, or higher job and workplace satisfaction are less likely to leave their schools. Policies to reduce turnover include improving compensation, working conditions, and access to strong preparation and supports for highturnover groups of teachers. The report on which this brief is based can be found here.  \nIntroduction  \nTeacher turnover remains a persistent challenge in the United States, straining schools; disrupting student learning; and undermining efforts to build a strong, stable, and diverse teacher workforce.  \nEvery school year, about 1 in 7 public school teachers moves schools or leaves the profession—a higher turnover rate than in the 1990s and in leading international education systems.1 When high turnover is paired with dwindling numbers of teachers entering the profession, schools face staffing challengesand unfilled teaching positions. Some schools then resort to hiring teachers who are not fully certified, increasing class sizes, or cutting course offerings.2  \nResearch shows that these staffing challenges can leave remaining teachers overworked, with reduced time for planning, and they are a source of job-related stress.3 These staffing challenges, more frequent in schools with larger shares of students of color and students from low-income backgrounds, diminish the overall quality of the education students receive and can also make it harder to retain teachers, fueling a cycle that is difficult to break.4 Overall, turnover impacts student achievement and the composition and qualifications of teachers in schools, and it further disrupts schools by undermining collegial relationships, collaboration, or the accumulation of institutional knowledge.5 Teacher turnover is also costly, as replacing a teacher can cost on average approximately $25,000 in a large district and about $12,000 in a small district (in 2024 dollars), diverting resources from investments that could support students and teachers.6  \nThis brief describes the state of teacher turnover in the United States and examines individual-and school-level factors associated with turnover. It uses the most recent national-level data from the National Center for Education Statistics National Teacher and Principal Survey (2020–21) and Teacher Follow-Up Survey (2021–22) to provide estimates of turnover across all teachers and by key teacher subgroups. Results are based on full-time, part-time, and itinerant teachers in traditional public and charter schools in 2020–21 who were followed into the 2021–22 school year. The findings complement prior state-level research on COVID-19 pandemic–induced challenges, highlighting that the challenges teachers faced prior to the pandemic still mattered during this period. The brief concludes with policy considerations to reduce teacher turnover and suggestions for future research.  \nKey Findings  \nTeacher turnover remains high nationally. Between 2020–21 and 2021–22, 15. 1% of U.S. teachers moved schools or left the profession: 8.0% moved schools, and 7.1% left teaching. ","cbCaieGASa7jYVBu","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaieGASa7jYVBu","pdf",516590,12,"English","# Summary\n# Introduction\n# Key Findings\n## National turnover rates\n## Voluntary and retirement-related turnover\n## Where teachers go after moving or leaving","[{\"question\":\"How common is teacher turnover between 2020–21 and 2021–22?\",\"answer\":\"About 15.1% of U.S. teachers moved schools or left the profession: 8.0% moved schools and 7.1% left teaching between 2020–21 and 2021–22.\"},{\"question\":\"Which teachers show higher turnover rates?\",\"answer\":\"Turnover is higher among early-career teachers, uncertified teachers, teachers of English as a Second Language, foreign languages, career and technical education, and special education, as well as teachers in city, charter, or high-poverty schools.\"},{\"question\":\"What factors make teachers less likely to leave their schools?\",\"answer\":\"After accounting for teacher and school characteristics, higher salaries, more effective and supportive leadership, and higher job and workplace satisfaction are associated with lower likelihood of leaving their schools.\"}]","Teacher Turnover in the United States - Who Moves, Who Leaves, and Why | PDF",1792054364]