How Bad Is the Teacher Shortage? What Two New Studies Say

Headline after headline over the past month have proclaimed a national teacher shortage—one that’s “really bad” or at “catastrophic” levels. The issue has even risen to the attention of the White House.

But how bad is it, really?

Two new studies, both published in August by the Annenberg Institute at Brown University, attempt to uncover concrete information about teacher shortages and turnover rates during the pandemic. Both teams of researchers ran into considerable limitations that make it impossible to collect real-time, comprehensive data to quantify the extent of a national shortage.

What that all means, they say, is that states, districts, and policymakers need granular data to help them tailor solutions—but right now often don’t have access to it.