Where are all the math and science teachers going?

11/13/2012

There is a lot of talk these days about STEM--science, technology, engineering, and math--and the teachers of STEM subjects. It would seem self-evident that these teachers, given their skill set, would be in demand in business and industry, and thus would be harder to keep in the classroom.

A new study (Ingersoll & May, 2012) offers some surprising data on this issue.

Using the national Schools and Staffing Survey and the Teacher Follow-Up Survey, they found that science and math teachers have NOT left the field at rates higher than that of other teachers. In this data set (1988-2005) math teachers and science teachers left teaching at about the same rate as teachers in other subjects: about 6% each year.

Furthermore, when these teachers do leave a school, they are no more likely to take a non-education job than other teachers: about 8% of "leavers" took another job outside of education. Much more common reasons to leave the classroom were retirement (about 15%) or an education job other than teaching (about 17%).

The authors argue that teacher turnover, not teachers leaving the field, is the engine behind staffing problems for math and science classes.

So what prompts teacher turnover?

The authors argue that on this dimension math and science teachers differ. Both groups are, unsurprisingly, motivated by better working conditions and higher salaries, but the former matter more to math teachers, and science teachers care more about the latter.

But in both cases, the result is that math and science teachers tend to leave schools with large percentages of low-incomes kids in order to move to schools with wealthier kids.

Ingersoll, R. M., & May, H. (2012). The magnitude, destinations, and determinants of mathematics and science teacher turnover. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 34, 435-464.

Jose link

11/12/2012 11:52:11 pm

This is a good read, Dan. The talk about math and science teachers getting incentivized for coming to / staying in the classroom is a smoke / mirror for what we really need: higher salaries for all. Granted, from what I remember, there's way more English teachers than all the other subjects, but even so, things like working conditions can really help keep teachers in the places where they're needed the most. Thank you.

Jeff

11/13/2012 12:48:26 am

Stop trolling. Until those going
into teaching represent the upper academic students going to college, that argument is invalid. Currently most student going into teaching represent the bottom of the pool of college applicants. It's one of the few programs people have a hard time failing. It seems that to promite the idea that college is for everyone programs must be available to retain them regardless of ability level.

Dan Willingham

11/13/2012 01:09:13 am

"most students going into teaching represent the bottom of the pool of college applicants. . ."
I hear this a lot but don't know of good data on this. . . do you have a source in mind?

Matt

11/13/2012 02:45:05 am

I am not agreeing or disagreeing with the comments or how good this study is. But the graphs on page 22 might be a start for you Dan.

http://www.ets.org/Media/Education_Topics/pdf/TQ_full_report.pdf

Jeff

11/13/2012 12:19:52 pm

It might not be as obvious in Virginia as it is in Alabama. I have been teaching all levels of chemistry here for about 7 years. I have a chemistry background, but picked up alternative certification as I wanted to help. Educational classes here are very lacking. I'm not certain I even understand how many of the students got into college. Apparently concessions can be made for really low ACT scores..

Beyond this, teaching in local high schools is depressing. Few of the teachers even care to have standards. Every disheartened academic teacher that leaves gets replaced by a coach. Most of the teachers are nice people, but they no longer even try to do more than basic babysitting as they get paid the same regardless.
(Personally - my administrator told me to quit bothering him about the student in my chemistry class that reads below a 5th grade level as he is currently being recruited by several larger universities to play football...And this is not unique to my school, I am actually at one of the best ones in our system..) Our problems go well beyond pay issues..

As for references, it has been awhile since I've kept up with this but these should be a decent starting point:

http://news.heartland.org/sites/all/modules/custom/heartland_migration/files/pdfs/22264.pdf

http://www.qualityteaching.org/Documents/2_teacher_qualifications_characteristics.pdf

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/top_performers/2012/11/teacher_quality_whos_on_which_side_and_why.html

http://www.qualityteaching.org/Documents/guide_what_does_quality_teacher_llok_like.pdf
http://www.educationgadfly.net/flypaper/2011/07/collecting-data-on-teacher-prep-programs-a-good-start-for-improving-them/

http://www.education-consumers.org/briefpdfs/1.7-history_teacher_certification.pdf

http://208.106.213.194/gadfly/index.cfm?issue=615#a6646

SueJ link

11/15/2012 12:11:06 pm

In my experience, it's really hard for folks who love math and science to teach it to kids who struggle with it and are culturally less inclined to value it. Much more gratifying to teach it to the success-driven ones in the higher-income schools.

Cyberike link

11/29/2012 04:28:22 pm

I don't know why a generic STEM teacher leaves the classroom, but I can tell you why I did. Single biggest problem: classroom management and student discipline. Students that disrupt class are always a problem, a problem that seems to be getting worse, but as I became more experienced I developed some tools to help me deal with the problems. What was frustrating to me was when administration would take away those tools.

The first tools they took away were conduct grades, then they started making it harder and harder to fail a student, then it was the requirement for intervention plans and IEPs.

The last straw was when school administration took away my (and all teachers) ability to have a student removed from the classroom. This did not happen often, but when it was necessary it was necessary, and it usually ended up helping not only the student but the rest of the class after a distraction was removed.

Once a student realizes they cannot be kicked out and they cannot flunk, they lose a significant amount of motivation to work or behave. The amount of disrespect rose significantly in the months after the new policy was enacted.

Number two was, for me, the requirement to teach to the test. The last year, in particular, we went to weekly departmental meeting just to discuss test questions and test results. I found it impossible to teach all the facts and details required in my physics class because of the tests and still teach concepts, which had been my strength for years. Nothing seemed to fit together into any kind of a coherent sequence any more.

I felt like I could no longer teach due to a combination of both of these issues, so I quit.

Did I get a better job or make more money? No. But I am far happier. The irony is that teaching is a job I once loved.

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