There is probably no force in the universe that can stop the Times and other big news outlets from publishing this drivel. But I can keep trying. Here’s a chart that’s different from others I’ve published on this subject, but amazingly says the exact same thing:
There is no tsunami of teachers quitting. The quit rate has been flat for the past few years and this year it’s down. The average quit rate in 2022 is within a tenth of a point of the average rate in 2019.
There is no massive outbreak of unfilled job openings. Over the past five years, total K-12 student enrollment has been absolutely flat and the number of new teacher hires has been precisely the same as total separations.
The number of unfilled job openings is higher than it used to be, but this is most likely due to an increase in indirect teaching jobs: diversity coordinators, special ed supervisors, senior mentors, etc.
I need to be very clear here: None of this means there are no problems in our schools. None of this means teachers don’t have legitimate gripes. And none of it means there are no teacher shortages anywhere.