In most industries, it’s important to keep a close eye on workforce turnover rates as an indicator of economic status. For the education marketplace, teacher turnover is more important to watch because of its wide impact on education in America.
We’re taking a closer look at rates of teacher turnover today and how these trends might impact the future of education.
What Is Employee Turnover?
To put it simply, turnover is the rate at which employees leave a particular workforce and are replaced. This includes attrition, which is the rate at which employees leave an organization for any reason, such as voluntarily departing, termination, or retirement. Turnover takes into account the number of new workers entering the workforce. Ideally, the attrition rate will match the number of people joining the labor force.
Why Does Turnover Matter?
In general, employee turnover is a valuable metric because it can signal potential issues in the industry. In most cases, a high turnover rate can act as a canary in the coal mine and could mean that problems are coming down the pipeline for the organization or marketplace. In regular business, a high turnover rate could mean that the compensation structure and accompanying benefits are not ideal.
What Is Teacher Turnover—or Attrition in Education?
Teacher turnover, specifically, refers to the rate at which teachers leave their current schools or the profession altogether. This is often attributed to factors like:
- Retirement
- Moving to another district or school
- Career changes
- Burnout
Why Is Education Turnover Important?
Teacher turnover in education raises serious concerns. Unlike a typical business, which might close if too many employees leave, public schools must keep operating. This means high attrition rates can significantly disrupt student learning and create challenges for schools in maintaining staff stability and continuity.
According to Tyton Partners, nearly one out of five teachers is considering leaving the profession in the next four years. But, retaining teachers across the school system has always required considerable resources.
Why Is Teacher Turnover So High?
Teacher turnover remains high because of low salaries, high stress, and difficult working conditions. This constant churn disrupts student learning and makes it hard to retain experienced staff. Retention today requires improving compensation, offering stronger professional development, and building better support systems for educators.
Average Teacher Turnover Historically
A 2016 EdWeek article reported that teachers who began working through alternative certification programs leave at higher rates than typically certified teachers since 1999. The Learning Policy Institute found that teacher shortages were becoming increasingly prevalent in 2017, with ⅔ of teachers leaving the job for a reason other than retirement. This proves that, although teacher turnover has become a larger issue since 2020, the problem was already in motion before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic
While the pandemic has ended, it’s clear that the repercussions will be felt for many years to come. Committing to the classroom as a long-term career teacher has always taken a toll on educators, from mental health to extreme burnout. According to the RAND Corporation, stress was the number one reason that most K–12 teachers left their jobs before the pandemic.
But with the addition of the anxiety that came from the health crisis, the report found that “almost half of the public school teachers who voluntarily stopped teaching in public schools after March 2020 and before their scheduled retirement left because of the COVID-19 Pandemic.”
Many teachers and students were unprepared for the at-home learning required to enhance public safety in 2020, with about 93% of parents who had school-age children reporting some form of distance learning during COVID-19, according to the Census Bureau. Even though school districts worked hard to pivot as necessary, teachers were often overwhelmed with managing distance learning requirements.
Teacher Turnover in 2025
The RAND Corporation reports that teacher turnover reached 7% during the 2023–2024 school year. That’s an improvement from the 10% spike we saw in the wake of the pandemic—but still a notch higher than the pre-pandemic average of 6%. The good news? Turnover gaps across urban (8.6%), suburban (6.8%), and rural (7.2%) schools have started to shrink. Even so, the pandemic didn’t create teacher dissatisfaction; it accelerated a trend already in motion—and many are still thinking about calling it quits.
According to the Connecticut Education Association, stress and burnout remain the top challenges in today’s schools. Educators cite several reasons for this ongoing strain:
- Student behavior and discipline issues
- Inadequate pay
- Lack of respect
- Education policies driven by politicians and non-educators
- An overwhelming number of district initiatives
The pressure is taking a toll. In a 2025 study by the University of Missouri, 78% of teachers said they’ve considered leaving the profession since the pandemic. And the impact is already being felt. According to the Learning Policy Institute, more than 400,000 teaching positions in 2024 were either vacant or filled by educators who weren’t fully certified for their roles—that’s roughly one in eight positions nationwide.
Looking ahead, the situation could worsen. UNESCO reports that by 2030, the world will need 44 million new primary and secondary school teachers to meet demand. This includes replacing more than half of the current educators expected to leave and filling seven out of ten secondary-level positions.
With burnout levels high and shortages growing, schools must act now to retain their teachers—or risk long-term consequences for students and communities alike.
The Impact of Teacher Turnover
In most professions, turnover is expected—or even necessary. Education is no exception, but the impacts of teacher turnover can have serious ramifications, including:
Disrupting Student Learning
When more teachers leave, students are often the ones who suffer the long-term consequences. Science Direct emphasizes that one of the main repercussions of teacher turnover is the disruption of student academic performance and attainment.
Teachers are the most influential factor in student success, according to the Learning Policy Institute. When they leave, it can seriously impact learning outcomes. A study from Vanderbilt University found that losing a teacher mid-year can set students back by 32 to 72 instructional days.
The learning disruptions are especially dangerous when teachers leave in the middle of a school year. An educator switch can lead to failure in the continuity of the learning experience. Increasing teacher turnover hurts the student-teacher relationship and weakens the overall academic support system for students.
Widening the Gap in Underfunded Schools
Despite the fact that teacher turnover affects all learning outcomes across the board, there’s a higher impact on already-disadvantaged students. That means school districts that struggle with funding and are labeled as “high-poverty” take a bigger hit when there’s teacher turnover.
Studies show teachers in high-poverty schools are more likely to leave their jobs or find a career elsewhere. Burnout and stress are also higher in these environments, leaving students vulnerable to more learning loss than in affluent and well-funded schools.
How To Improve Turnover Rates
What can be done to change this fate? To support educator retention, schools can:
1. Improve Working Conditions
It may seem obvious, but the environment that an employee works in every day seriously affects their productivity and the sustainability of their job. In addition, working conditions impact morale—which, if continuously low, could lead to increased turnover. Administrators have at least some of the power to influence a positive working environment, as evidenced by a Chicago Public School District report.
2. Strengthen Compensation
Teacher pay has been a constant discussion, as many states struggle to offer educators a competitive salary. Research reveals that teachers in the U.S. are paid less than the average full-time worker and are underpaid for their level of education. At the same time, they’ve experienced real wage declines for the past decade. The RAND Corporation reports that teachers who received larger pay raises in the 2023–2024 school year were more likely to feel their salaries were adequate and less likely to consider leaving the profession.
3. Prioritize Mental Health
Due to the stress and requirements of the job, administrators need to provide mental health services to educators. This could help teachers deal with burnout and its effects to continue working and supporting students’ learning. For example, districts could partner with national organizations to focus on not only students’ well-being but also their educators.
4. Introduce Mentorship Opportunities
Creating a supportive workplace could also mean mentoring new teachers so they feel confident as they continue their career path. Whether this be through administrative assistance or tenured co-workers, this additional support after the initial hiring could reduce teacher turnover rates. When the job becomes difficult, a new teacher would have a mentorship pipeline to rely on.
How Solution Providers Support Teacher Retention
Education solution providers have a powerful part to play in helping schools keep great teachers in the classroom. Whether it’s streamlining daily tasks, improving classroom management, or offering tools that support well-being and professional growth, the right solutions can make a real difference. By tuning in to what educators truly need, providers can become trusted partners in creating schools where teachers feel supported—and want to stay.
Help Schools Retain Valued Educators
If you’re ready to help educators manage the high-stress demands of today’s classrooms, Agile Education Marketing has the tools to get you there. Comprehensive education data and smart insights make it easy to understand your target schools, build segmented contact lists, and power a truly effective omnichannel marketing strategy. This ensures your message reaches the right decision-makers at the right time.
Ready to engage with schools and show how your solutions can help retain great teachers? Reach out to connect!
