Teacher shortage challenges haven’t let up鈥擪12 leaders reported an average of six teaching vacancies ahead of the school year. They filled 79% of them before students returned.
That’s according to from the National Center for Education Statistics, which surveyed public school leaders about hiring challenges they faced. A majority of public schools (64%) reported a lack of qualified candidates to choose from and too few applicants (62%).
Breaking the data down further, both elementary and middle schools cited trouble filling a special education teaching vacancy with a fully certified聽teacher (74%). English as a second language or bilingual teachers were the hardest posts to fill in high schools (69%).
“Entering the 2024-25 school year, the data show a decrease in the percentage of public schools reporting difficulty filling one or more vacant teaching positions compared to the previous year, dropping from 79% to 74%. But there is still room for improvement,” NCES Commissioner Peggy Carr said in a statement.
Additionally, a majority of public schools (69%) reported difficulties filling one or more vacant non-teaching positions before the start of the school year, which is a decrease from 80% compared to last year’s data.
Here are some other key data from the study:
- Social studies saw the highest percentage of vacancies filled (89%), compared to foreign languages, which had the lowest (71%).
- Transportation staff is the most vacant position with only 60% of public school vacancies being filled this school year.
- Across the board, public schools were able to fill 92% of their administrative staff vacancies.
These findings are part of the NCES’s experimental data product from the , the organization’s approach to delivering actionable data regarding the pandemic’s impact on public schools. You can read more on the .
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