Parents deserve clear, accessible information about who teaches their children, the experience and qualifications of those teachers, and whether classrooms are fully staffed. To evaluate the availability of this information, we examined each state’s school report card—the primary public resource most families are likely to consult. Our review focused on whether key teacher workforce metrics could be found directly within the report card itself, understanding that parents are unlikely to search extensively on state department of education websites. While many states report basic measures such as teacher experience or certification, critical metrics like turnover rates and current vacancies are much less commonly available. Without this information, families cannot fully assess the stability and strength of the teaching workforce supporting their children’s education.
We believe that parents and other stakeholders should have access to information about the teacher workforce in their state, district, and school to better understand the resources available for their students. This information is also important for understanding local supply and demand, as local and state education agencies try to anticipate and fill open positions to ensure all students have access to qualified teachers.
In the dashboard below, we can review the score we assigned to each state based on the data available in its school report card. Each state could earn up to 20 points in five teacher workforce categories–demographics, experience, qualifications, vacancies, and attrition–adding up to a total of 100 points (100%). Hovering over each state tile will show the overall score and the completeness of each category, based on available subcategories. Each category has two subcategories, except for attrition, which has three. You can visit each school report card directly from the mouseover and review more details about the respective state below the map, including levels of category disaggregation–state, district, school–and available subcategories. The additional data window lists additional teacher workforce data readily available elsewhere on the website.
Demographics
Collecting and understanding teacher demographic data is important because student populations are diverse, whereas the teacher population is usually White and female. Research shows that students benefit from having teachers who reflect their diversity. We found that 16 states (32%) report teacher demographic information on their school report cards. An additional 11 states (22%) publish this data elsewhere. In total, 27 states, or only 54%, report demographic data for their teacher workforce.
Experience
Another important metric related to student achievement is years of teaching experience. Teacher experience has become especially significant as a factor in post-pandemic learning loss, as many teachers nearing retirement age chose to leave the classroom early during the pandemic. Thirty-three states, or 66%, include information about teacher experience on their report cards. An additional 8 states (16%) report this information elsewhere. In total, 41 states (82%) provide data on teacher experience levels.
Certifications
Teacher certification status is an important metric because it is one of the most common indicators of experience and quality among the teacher workforce. Thirty-eight states, or 76%, reported information about teacher certification on their report cards, while an additional 9 states (18%) provided this information on other websites. In total, 47 states (94%) have publicly accessible information about teacher certification.
Vacancies
A current list of teacher vacancies can be especially helpful for job seekers and parents, as positions may be unfilled at the start of a new school year and can become vacant during the year. This can impact students’ learning outcomes if a replacement teacher isn’t found. Only two states (South Carolina and Nevada) report vacancy data on their report cards. An additional seven states (14%) report this information elsewhere. This means that only nine states, or 18%, report teacher vacancy data in any location.
Attrition
Teacher turnover or attrition is another factor that can be linked to student achievement, and the pandemic caused more teachers than usual to leave the classroom. We believe it is important to track teacher attrition because it helps predict teacher vacancies that need to be filled. Only 15 states (30%) report attrition data on their school report cards, while an additional 5 states (10%) report it elsewhere. In total, 20 states (40%) report attrition or turnover data.
Table 1. Number and percentage of states reporting teacher workforce metrics
| Demographics | Experience | Certification | Turnover | Vacancy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
School Report Card |
16 states (-32%) |
33 states (-66%) |
38 states (-76%) |
15 states (-30%) |
2 states (-4%) |
|
Additional Availability |
11 states (-22%) |
8 states (-16%) |
9 states (-18%) |
5 states (-10%) |
7 states (-14%) |
|
Total |
27 states (-54%) |
41 states (-82%) |
47 states (-94%) |
20 states (-40%) |
9 states (-18%) |
Highlights
- Uneven reporting of teacher workforce data: Experience and certification status are the most frequently reported data, and current vacancies are the least reported.
- Standout states: Four states (Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Oregon) provide at least partial information on four of the five teacher workforce categories.
- Notable mentions: Two states (Nevada and South Carolina) include teacher vacancy data in their school report cards; nine states (18%) provide public state-level data on teacher vacancies elsewhere on their state website.
Recommendations
- Standardize teacher workforce data collection: Develop and implement centralized protocols for collecting and reporting teacher workforce data—including subject-area vacancies, certification levels, and attrition—at the state and national levels.
- Highlight teacher vacancies: Enhance visibility of teacher vacancies, allowing both job seekers and parents to better understand the gaps in teacher coverage within schools, districts, and states.
- Disaggregate data by subject area: Report teacher experience, turnover, certification status, demographics, and vacancies by subject area. This can allow users to observe trends in teacher data within and across subjects.