A recent report from E3 Alliance titled, “Trends in Texas Teacher Retention 2013-2023: Should I Stay or Should I Go?”, illustrates how they use data to surface key education issues and identify potential policy solutions.
Recruitment vs Retention
Studies show that student achievement suffers in schools with high turnover. While school leaders and policymakers often focus on recruitment to address teacher shortages, rather than preventing attrition, E3 Alliance researchers wanted to understand how to reduce attrition and keep effective and experienced teachers in the classroom.
To determine which Texas teachers are most likely to remain in the profession, E3 Alliance analyzed a decade’s worth of state data spanning from 2013 to 2023.
Who stays? Who leaves?
One of the key findings is that teachers of color are more likely to remain in the classroom than White teachers. Hispanic educators, for example, are 39% more likely to continue teaching than White educators. Black educators are 8% more likely to stay in the classroom than White educators. Asian educators are 7% more like to stay.
The data also revealed that attrition rates are highest for Texas teachers with “No Known Certification.” The percentage of teachers without a known certification is small but growing. They comprised less than 1% of the state’s teacher workforce in 2013 but grew to 6.1% by 2023. E3 found teachers with “No Known Certification” are 70% less likely to stay in the classroom than educators who have earned a standard certification, meaning they participated in an Educator Preparation Program that had a student-teaching component.
What’s more, educators who teach multiple subjects are more likely to remain in the classroom. In comparison, English/Language Arts teachers are 19% less likely to stay than those who teach multiple subjects. Science teachers were 13% less likely to stay; math teachers were 11% less likely to stay.
Implications for Policy
- Creating a more supportive environment and better working conditions for all educators would improve recruitment and retention of diverse educators in Texas.
- Establishing stricter requirements for educator preparation programs and mentorship guidelines would also help keep teachers in the classroom.
- Developing the math and science teacher workforce, where staffing shortages are often greatest.
How E3 Alliance is continuing this work
For the 90th Texas Legislature E3 Alliance will focus on policies that improve teacher quality, including advocating for additional investments and refinement of the Preparing and Retaining Educators through Partnership (PREP) Allotment and elevating teacher preparation standards. They will also support statewide and transparent data on the teacher workforce and shortages.
About E3 Alliance
E3 Alliance is a Texas-based education collaborative and backbone organization that is deeply rooted in data. They partner with school districts, higher education institutions, businesses, policymakers, and fellow nonprofits to drive research-backed systems change. Their goal is to ensure all students thrive in their educational journey from cradle-to-career.
To learn more about E3 Alliance’s research on teacher workforce trends, please contact Senior Director of Research and Data Dr. Annelies Rhodes.
