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Gallup
U.S. Superintendents
Challenged to Find, Keep Good Teachers
By Tim Hodges
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
61% of superintendents struggle with recruiting, retaining good teachers
Needs of underprepared students, effects of poverty also top challenges
Preparing students for citizenship is more challenging than in past
As students across the U.S. return to classes, district superintendents
find themselves preparing to meet a range of challenges in the year
ahead. Sixty-one percent of superintendents strongly agree that
recruiting and retaining talented teachers will be a challenge for
their school district this year. Another 22% agree, totaling more than
four in five who see teacher recruitment and retention as an important
issue to address.
These results are based on web interviews, conducted June 25-July 18,
with 1,892 public school district superintendents in the U.S. as part
of Gallup's 2018 Survey of K-12 School District Superintendents.
Several factors are causing the national teacher shortage that is
driving the need for exceptional recruitment and retention efforts.
Student enrollment continues to increase, and many states are enacting
legislation that reduces class size, creating more teaching positions.
At the same time, a declining number of new teacher graduates are
entering the profession, while other teachers move from one school to
another or leave the profession entirely. These factors have combined
to make the recruitment and retention of talented teachers an important
issue for school district leaders.
This issue is less of a challenge for superintendents in suburban
districts (51% strongly agree) than those in city (65%), town (63%) and
rural (65%) districts.
Gallup has asked many of the same survey items in the past, including
in 2013 and in 2017, and tested 10 issues this year. While teacher and
principal recruitment and retention were new options on this year's
superintendent poll, the top challenges identified on last year's
survey -- improving the academic performance of underprepared students
and the effects of poverty on student learning -- top the list of
challenges again this year.
Also similar to previous years: More than seven in 10 school
superintendents (72%) strongly agree or agree that budget shortfalls
will be a challenge this year, and 63% of superintendents strongly
agree or agree that rising demands for assessment from the state and
federal level will be an issue for their district. The latter is down
sharply from 2013 when it was the most prominent challenge (82%
strongly agreed or agreed).
The issue that increased in prominence over the past year is preparing
students for engaged citizenship. While in 2017, half of district
leaders identified this as a challenge, the 2018 results show an
increase to nearly three in four.
Preparing for the Future
While each school year offers a new beginning, district leaders are
preparing for the inevitable challenges that await them. The biggest of
these challenges appears to be adjusting to the teacher shortage by
recruiting and retaining talented teachers, followed closely by
improving the academic performance of underprepared students and
dealing with the effects of poverty on student learning. Finally, while
not at the level of the top challenges, the issue of preparing students
for engaged citizenship grew most significantly since last year's
survey. These and other issues will influence district leaders as they
set policies and make decisions in the year ahead.
About the Study
Gallup developed this research study of K-12 superintendents of public
school districts in the U.S. to understand opinions on important topics
and policy issues facing education. Since 2013, Gallup has conducted
the survey at least annually. The 2018 report addresses a variety of
issues, including:
the future of K-12 education
challenges facing K-12 education
evaluating effectiveness of the public schools
student preparedness
work partnerships
combined work/higher education programs for high school graduates
federal education policy
school safety measures
The full report is available for download at Gallup.com.
See graphs of surveys at Gallup
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