11 Facts About Teaching

Welcome to DoSomething.org, a global movement of millions of young people making positive change, online and off! The 11 facts you want are below, and the sources for the facts are at the very bottom of the page. After you learn something, Do Something! Find out how to take action here.

1. For the 2011-2012 school year, the average salary for public school teachers was $56,643 in current dollars (not adjusted for inflation).^[Institute of Education Sciences. "Fast Facts." National Center for Education Statistics. http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=28 (accessed July 14, 2014).]
2. 46% of teachers in the education profession leave within five years of the start of their career. Underwhelming support systems and long after-school hours spent grading and planning are the top reasons for teacher burnout. Create a playlist to support and destress your teacher! Sign up for New Year, New US: TUESDAY.^[Kain, Erik. "High Teacher Turnover Rates are a Big Problem for America’s Public Schools." Forbes Magazine: Education. .]
3. Between 2002 and 2012, about 700,000 teachers were projected to retire, accounting for about 28% of the hiring needs during that 10-year span.^["Unraveling the “Teacher Shortage” problem: Teacher Retention is the Key." National Commission on Teaching and America's Future and NCTAF State Partners. http://www.ncsu.edu/mentorjunction/text_files/teacher_retentionsymposium.pdf (accessed July 16, 2014).]
4. Of the 3,380,300 public school teachers who were teaching during the 2007-08 school year, 84.5% remained at the same school, 7.6% moved to a different school, and 8% left the profession during the following year.^["Facts about the Teaching Profession for A National Conversation about Teaching." Department of Education. http://www2.ed.gov/documents/respect/teaching-profession-facts.doc (accessed July 16, 2014).]
5. Minority teachers are 2 to 3 times more likely than white teachers to work in such hard-to-staff schools.^["The Minority Teacher Shortage: Fact or Fable?." Education Week:. http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/09/01/kappan_ingersoll.html (accessed July 16, 2014).]
6. Teachers with 10 or fewer years of experience now constitute over 52% of our teaching force.^["Facts about the Teaching Profession for A National Conversation about Teaching." Department of Education. http://www2.ed.gov/documents/respect/teaching-profession-facts.doc (accessed July 16, 2014).]
7. Teacher job satisfaction dropped 15 points since from 2009 to 2012, from 59% who were very satisfied to 44% who are very satisfied, the lowest level in over 20 years.^["Facts about the Teaching Profession for A National Conversation about Teaching." Department of Education. http://www2.ed.gov/documents/respect/teaching-profession-facts.doc (accessed July 16, 2014).]
8. Slightly more than half (53%) of parents and 2/3 (65%) of teachers say that public school teachers’ salaries are not fair for the work they do.^["Facts about the Teaching Profession for A National Conversation about Teaching." Department of Education. http://www2.ed.gov/documents/respect/teaching-profession-facts.doc (accessed July 16, 2014).]
9. In 2007–08, some 76% of public school teachers were female, 44% were under age 40, and 52% had a master’s or higher degree.^[Institute of Education Sciences. "Fast Facts." National Center for Education Stastistics. http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=28 (accessed July 14, 2014).]
10. More than 1 in 5 teachers in 2011 was under the age of 30, and the proportion of teachers 50 and older dropped from 42% in 2005 to 31% in 2011.^["Facts about the Teaching Profession for A National Conversation about Teaching." Department of Education. http://www2.ed.gov/documents/respect/teaching-profession-facts.doc (accessed July 16, 2014).]
11. Employment of kindergarten, elementary, middle, and secondary school teachers is expected to grow by 13% between 2008 and 2018.^["Facts about the Teaching Profession for A National Conversation about Teaching." Department of Education. http://www2.ed.gov/documents/respect/teaching-profession-facts.doc (accessed July 16, 2014).]