Sources of Newly Hired Teachers in the U.S.

Newly hired teachers accounted for 6 percent of all public school teachers and 11 percent of all private school teachers in 2011-12, according to a new statistical report. These percentages fell from 2007-08, when 10 percent of public school teachers and 16 percent of private school teachers were newly hired.

The National Center for Education Statistics today (October 12) released Sources of Newly Hired Teachers in the United States: Results from the Schools and Staffing Survey, 1987–88 to 2011–12. This Statistical Analysis Report examines the sources of newly hired public and private primary and secondary school teachers in the United States. The study uses data spanning 25 years from four administrations of the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), a sample survey of U.S. elementary and secondary schools.

Newly hired teachers were classified into four groups: newly prepared teachers (began teaching directly after receiving a degree), delayed entrants (began teaching after exiting a different career), transfers (taught in a different school during the prior year), and reentrants (came back to teaching after a break). The report describes the distribution of newly hired teachers across these categories and also includes data on teacher characteristics, main teaching assignment, and employment and activities in the prior year.

Among the findings:

•    In 2011–12, the percentage of public school teachers who were newly hired was about 6 percent, the same level as 1987-88. However, in 1999-00 and 2007-08, that percentage had risen to 10 percent;

•    The percentage of all private teachers who were newly hired teachers fell from 17 percent in 1987-88 to 11 percent in 2011-12;

•    The percentage of first-time teachers, which combines newly prepared and delayed entrants, in both public and private schools increased between 1987–88 and 1999–2000. There were no measurable changes in the percent of first-time teachers in subsequent administrations.

•    Transfers, as a percentage of newly hired teachers, did not change significantly for public or private schools between 1987–88 and 2011–12, while the percentage of teachers who were reentrants decreased.