While teacher workforce data is currently a collection of imperfect and sometimes proxy measures, it does provide a glimpse of information about the status of the profession related to quantity, preparation, demographics, shortage areas, quality, and the distribution of talent. 

For state reported data, SREB pulled the most comparable data available. Certain states do not report all data points or define certain data points differently. These are noted by state in the list below. Some percentage totals are off due to inconsistencies in data reporting or rounding errors in data files.

Use the accordions below to find definitions, sources, and footnotes for SREB’s compilation of teacher workforce data. 

 

Common Definitions

Uncertified Teachers: Teachers who have not met full credentialing requirements as set by the state. This includes emergency, provisional, and limited certifications.

Out-of-Field Teachers: Teachers who are teaching courses outside of their certified subject areas.

Inexperienced Teachers: Generally defined as teachers who have less than three years of experience. Select states alter this definition. See state-by-state footnotes below.

Attrition or Turnover Rate: The percentage of teachers not retained from the previous year in the state’s education system.

 

Federal/National Data Sources

National Center for Education Statistics. Nonfiscal Public Elementary/Secondary Education Survey 2020-21.

U.S. Department of Education. Teacher Shortage Area Reports.

U.S. Department of Education. 2021 Title II Reports.

National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. State Rankings by Percentage of National Board Certified Teachers: 2023 State Rankings and 2024 State Rankings.

• Note: In our data publications, we previously used total to refer to the number of National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) who were ever certified — including both active certifications and those that had lapsed. Going forward, we will share the number of NBCTs with active certifications, as well as the number who ever achieved certification, in state rankings.
  • NBCTs Ever Certified: This number is inclusive of all teachers who achieved National Board Certification, including active certifications and those that have expired.
  • NBCTs with Active Certifications: The number of National Board Certified Teachers who have certification that has not lapsed.

 

National Center for Education Statistics. Racial/Ethnic Enrollment in Public Schools. 

McKinsey & Company. K-12 teachers are quitting. What would make them stay?

Institute of Education Sciences. Characteristics of 2020-21 Public and Private School Teachers in the United States.

Learning Policy Institute. Interactive Tool: What’s the Cost of Teacher Turnover?

Annenberg Institute at Brown University and Kansas State University. Teacher Shortages in the United States.

 

State-by-State Sources and Footnotes

Alabama

Alabama Department of Education Report Card. Educator Demographics.

Alabama Commission on the Evaluation of Services. Teacher Workforce: Recruitment & Retention Evaluation. 

 

Arkansas

Arkansas Department of Education Data Center. School Report Card.

Arkansas Department of Education Data Center. State Profile.

Arkansas Department of Education Data Center. Annual Reports.

Notes:

• Arkansas reports the total count of teachers differently on different state data sets.
• The percent of specialist degrees includes all advanced degrees above master’s.

 

DELAWARE

Delaware Department of Education. Report Cards.

Delaware.gov — Delaware Open Data. Education Level.

Delaware.gov — Delaware Open Data. Educator Characteristics.

Delaware.gov — Delaware Open Data. Teacher Mobility by Year, Organization, Experience, Race, and Gender.

Notes: 

• Delaware reports the percent of teachers with “less than a bachelor’s degree.” This percentage is reflected in the associate degree counts.
• Delaware defines inexperienced (early career) as less than four years of teaching experience.

 

FLORIDA

Florida Department of Education. Performance Evaluation.

Florida Department of Education. State Report Card.

Note: Florida reports out-of-field percent as the percent of classes taught by an out-of-field educator.

 

GEORGIA

The Governor’s Office of Student Achievement. Georgia K-12 Teacher and Leader Workforce Report.

The Governor’s Office of Student Achievement. Downloadable Data.

Note: Georgia reports inexperienced teachers as those who have one year of experience or less.

 

KENTUCKY

Kentucky Department of Education. School Report Card: Data Sets.

 

LOUISIANA

Louisiana Department of Education. Workforce Attributes. 

Louisiana Department of Education. State Profile: Educator Workforce Snapshot.

Louisiana Department of Education – Report to the House and Senate Committees on Education of the Louisiana Legislature. 2020-21 Teacher Exit Survey Report.

Notes:

• Louisiana calculates attrition rate for teachers and staff together.

 

MARYLAND

Maryland State Department of Education. Educator Qualifications.

Maryland State Department of Education. Maryland’s Teacher Workforce: Supply, Demand, and Diversity — 2022 and 2024.

Maryland State Department of Education. Professional Staff by Type of Degree and Years of Experience — 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023.

Maryland State Department of Education. Professional Staff by Assignment, Race/Ethnicity and Gender — 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023.

 

MISSISSIPPI

Mississippi Department of Education. Accountability Data.

Mississippi Department of Education. Teachers and School Leaders.

Note: SREB made a public data request and received additional teacher data from the Mississippi Department of Education.

 

NORTH CAROLINA

North Carolina School Report Cards. State Report.

North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. State of the Teaching and Principal Profession Dashboard.

North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. Highlights of the North Carolina Public School Budget (2021).

North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and State Board of Education: Report to the North Carolina General Assembly. State of the Teaching Profession in North Carolina — 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23.

NC.Gov – North Carolina Public Schools Statistical Profile. Public School Full-Time Personnel; State Summary.

Note: North Carolina separates public school teachers and charter school teachers. SREB recorded the data for public school teachers only in this report.

 

OKLAHOMA

Oklahoma State Department of Education. Emergency Certifications. 

Oklahoma School Report Cards. State Report Card: Teachers.

Oklahoma State Department of Education. 2021 Oklahoma Educator Supply & Demand Report.

 

SOUTH CAROLINA

South Carolina Department of Education. Teacher Data. 

South Carolina School Report Cards. 2020-21 Report Cards for Academics and Class Environment.

Duke: Program in Education. South Carolina Teachers by Race and Gender by School District 2021-22. (Note: Downloads automatically)

Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention, & Advancement. South Carolina Annual Educator Supply & Demand Report (2021-2022).

SC Teacher. South Carolina Teacher Retention Rates for the 2020-21 Academic Year: One-Year and Three-Year Averages.

SC Teacher: Educator Pipeline Research. South Carolina Teacher Retention Report for 2022-23.

SC Teacher: Educator Pipeline Research. South Carolina Teacher Attrition, Mobility, and Retention Report for 2023-24.

Notes:

• The percent of inexperienced and out-of-field teachers are for core classes only; South Carolina does not report the total in all classes. 
• South Carolina did not have emergency or provisional licenses available in the 2020-21 school year.

 

TENNESSEE

Tennessee Department of Education. Data Downloads & Requests. 

Tennessee Department of Education. Annual Statistical Report.

Notes:

• Spreadsheets are missing for the 2020-21 school year. TDOE did not respond to SREB’s request for data.

 

TEXAS

Texas Education Agency. Educator Reports and Data.

Texas Education Agency. State Talent Reports.

Texas Education Agency. 2023-24 Staff Information.

The University of Texas at Austin – College of Education. The Texas Principal Workforce Report.

Texas Equity Toolkit. Frequently Asked Questions.

Texas Education Agency. 2021-22 Texas Public School Statistics: Pocket Edition.

Texas Education Agency. Federal Report Card — 2021 and 2022.

Texas Education Agency. Teacher Retention Demographics by 2015-16 Through 2020-21.

Texas Education Agency. Teacher Retention by Preparation Route 2015-16 Through 2020-21.

Texas Education Agency. Employed Teacher Demographics — 2015-16 Through 2021-22 and 2016-17 Through 2023-24.

Texas Education Agency. Employed Teacher Attrition and New Hires — 2011-12 Through 2022-23 and 2014-15 Through 2023-24.

Texas Education Agency. New Standard Certified Teacher Ages by Preparation Route 2017-18 Through 2022-23.

Note: Texas includes teachers with an emergency certificate and those with no Texas certification in emergency/provisional percentages.

 

VIRGINIA

Virginia State Board of Education. 2023 Annual Report on the Condition and Needs of Public Schools in Virginia.

Virginia Department of Education: State Quality Profile. Teacher Quality.

Virginia Department of Education. Statistics & Reports.

Virginia Department of Education. Education Workforce Data & Reports.

Virginia Department of Education. 2020-21 Number of Educators by Division, Race, and Ethnicity. (Note: Downloads automatically)

 

WEST VIRGINIA

West Virginia Department of Education. Personnel Data for State.

West Virginia Department of Education. ZOOMWV PK-12 Data Dashboard.