How Many Teachers Leave The Profession Within Their First Five Years?

Mohamed_hassan / Pixabay

Many of us are familiar with the old saying that half of all new teachers are gone from the profession within the first five years.

Fortunately, that number is a bit of an exaggeration, but not by much.

The Education Endowment Foundation in Great Britain recently came out with a new study finding that:

Almost one in three teachers leave within their first five years of teaching, rising to 43% within
ten.

That report got me wondering about the numbers here in the United States.

The most recent study I could find was ten years old, and it estimated that 44% of teachers leave within the first five years.

My guess would be that today’s number is at least that percentage and is likely more, given post-pandemic stress and additional cultural/political pressures.

Perhaps districts and schools might want to consider upping their game around supporting newbies?  That is something they can control.

Let me know if anyone is aware of more recent numbers.