The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) recently released a “First Look” report on the Beginning Teacher Longitudinal Study (BTLS), which collected data from teachers who entered the profession in 2007 or 2008 in three waves (two more waves of collection are expected). This report looks at the first wave of data collection.
The study was meant to give a better view of the career paths of beginning teachers; thus the data collected includes the characteristics and attitudes (“teacher satisfaction”) of those who stay in the profession and those who leave. Demographic information, environmental factors in the profession (e.g., professional development, working conditions) and job satisfaction were also collected.
The key (and somewhat unsurprising) findings of the first wave of data are:
—Of teachers who began in public schools in 2007 or 2008, 10% were not teaching in 2008-09 and 12% were not teaching in 2009-10.
—Of beginning teachers who were assigned a mentor their first year, 8% were not teaching in 2008-09 and 10% were not teaching in 2009-10. In contrast, of those NOT assigned a mentor their first year, 16% were not teaching in 2008-09 and 23% were not teaching in 2009-10.
—93% of beginning teachers making less than $40,000 in 2008-09 remained teachers in 2009-10; and 96% who made $40,000 or more in 2008-09 remained teachers in 2009-10.
—74% of beginning teachers remained in the same school for 2009-10 (stayers); 10% went to a different school (movers); 3% returned to teaching after a year of not teaching (returners); and 12% were not teaching at all (leavers).
—Movers: 21% in 2008-09 and 27% in 2009-10 moved due to their contract not being renewed.
—Leavers: 31% in 2008-09 and 35% in 2009-10 left due to their contracts not being renewed.
To learn more about the NCES’ methodology and other information, please visit http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2011318
