Examining School-Level Teacher Turnover Trends (2021-25): A New Angle on a Pervasive Issue
We’ve updated this analysis, originally published in May 2023, to reflect new 2025 data from six states.
Ensuring that every student has access to consistent, high-quality teaching is more important now than ever, as schools continue to work tirelessly to accelerate learning. But high levels of teacher turnover strain districts’ abilities to meet this goal and don’t provide the stability that students need.
Today’s students are experiencing a level of instability even higher than what’s typically reported. Districts and researchers tend to report turnover as the percentage of teachers who leave their district or the profession entirely. But this approach overlooks teachers who transfer to other schools or other roles within their district, masking the impact on schools and students with the greatest needs.
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Our research—derived from data from six states across the country—shows that, while turnover has steadily decreased since the 2021-2022 pandemic spike, it continues to disproportionately impact students experiencing poverty and students receiving special education services.
These analyses take a closer look at some key findings:
- School-level turnover remains high, even as districts recover from the pandemic peak. On average, 16% of teachers left their school after the 2024-2025 school year, a decrease of four percentage points since the 2021-2022 school year. Although teachers who leave teaching in their state entirely account for the largest share of this turnover, 25% came from teachers who transferred schools within their district, a form of churn that is often missing from standard reporting.
- School-level turnover varies widely from state to state. In Pennsylvania, 12% of teachers left their school after the 2024-2025 school year, compared to more than double that rate of Texas teachers.
- Turnover disproportionately impacts students in high-poverty schools. Schools serving at least 70% of students experiencing poverty lost 19% of their teachers between October 2024 and October 2025, while schools with fewer than 35% of students experiencing poverty lost 14%.
- Turnover is substantially higher among rookie teachers (teachers with 0-2 years of experience). One in four of these teachers left their school after the 2024-2025 school year, compared to one in seven teachers with 8-15 years of experience.
- Special education teachers leave their schools more than their peers. Nineteen percent of these teachers left after the 2024-2025 school year, compared to 14% of general education teachers
- Some special education teachers are moving into general education. On average, 12% of special education teachers from 2024-2025 were no longer teaching special education the following year. One third of that figure is made up of special education teachers who continued teaching in a different role.
To end the cycle of instability for students, we must address the root cause of the issue: a job that isn’t attractive or sustainable enough to ensure we can properly educate all students.
See our data and analysis below to learn what each takeaway means for students, families, and school systems.
Sixteen Percent of Teachers Left Their School or a Teaching Role Last Year
Building a positive and inviting school climate in which every student is known requires sustained effort and strong relationships. Teacher turnover makes that work harder. To truly understand the impact of teacher turnover on students, we need to look at the proportion of teachers who leave not just their district or the profession, but also their individual schools within their districts.
What the Data Shows
Among teachers in our sample, 16% left their school or teaching role between October 2024 and October 2025. That number comprises teachers who:
- Transferred schools within their district. This category, which is often not included in teacher turnover reporting, makes up a quarter of overall churn.
- Changed to a non-teaching role. These teachers left a teaching role, for example, moved into instructional coaching or an assistant principal role.
- Moved districts. These teachers continued teaching but moved to another district in their state.
- Are no longer teaching in the state. These teachers may have continued teaching in another state or left the profession entirely. This category represents 40% of overall teacher turnover.
Figure 1a: Average School-Level Turnover, By Year (2020-2025)
Overall school-level turnover varies substantially between states in our sample, though all states have seen a decrease in turnover since the 2021-2022 school year. Texas had the highest school-level turnover, with 25% of teachers leaving their school after the 2024-2025 school year. All other states had school-level turnover rates between 12% and 18%.
Figure 1b: School-Level Turnover Between October 2024 and October 2025 by State
In each state, the largest component of school-level turnover is made up of teachers who left teaching in their state, possibly leaving the teaching profession entirely. These teachers account for 40% of school-level turnover, on average. Another quarter is due to teachers who transfer schools within their district. Georgia (4%) and Texas (6%) have the highest proportion of teachers who moved to other districts within the state and continued teaching.
Within these states, however, the level and composition of teacher turnover vary substantially.
Because teacher turnover is so localized, it’s important for school district leaders to understand the turnover picture in their own district and how that compares to similar districts nearby. By exploring the differences across districts and learning from districts with low teacher turnover, state and district leaders can derive strategies for improving teacher retention. A district with a high rate of teachers transferring out of the highest-need schools but staying in the district might consider how to improve supports to teachers in those schools, for example through stronger coaching and additional planning time. A district with a high rate of teachers leaving for neighboring districts might look at the competitiveness of their compensation and working conditions.
What this means for students and families
This level of instability is particularly concerning in our current moment, when students’ mental health and social-emotional needs are greater than ever.
At the start of the school year, for example, a student attending a school with this amount of turnover is less likely to be in a classroom with a teacher they recognize. And if that student has an older sibling, they’re less likely to get a teacher who has already built a relationship with their family. What’s more, a student in a school that needs more experienced teachers is highly likely to receive a teacher with only a few years of teaching experience.
Turnover Is Greatest in Schools That Serve the Most Students Experiencing Poverty
Students from low-income backgrounds face additional barriers to success compared to their peers from higher-income backgrounds. As the 2022 and 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores show, students in high-poverty schools lost more ground during the pandemic than their peers in low-poverty schools.
Recovery efforts haven’t sufficiently reduced widening achievement gaps between high- and low-poverty schools and districts. These high-need schools often lack the supportive working conditions teachers require to meet their students’ needs, and, as a result, they tend to have the highest turnover rates. As teachers transfer to other schools within their districts in search of more manageable workloads, the challenge only gets harder and more complex.
What the Data Shows
On average across our sample, schools serving at least 70% of students experiencing poverty lost 19% of their teachers between October 2024 and October 2025, while schools serving fewer than 35% of those students lost 14%. Teachers in the highest-need schools transfer within their district, move districts, and leave teaching in their states at higher rates than teachers in the lowest-need schools.
Figure 2a: Average School-Level Turnover Between October 2024 and October 2025 by Percentage of Students Who Are Economically Disadvantaged
Figure 2b: Turnover Gap Between Low-Poverty and High-Poverty Schools
Over time, this level of turnover means that few teachers remain in their same schools after five years of teaching, particularly in schools with the greatest concentration of poverty. During the 2025-2026 school year, nearly half of teachers in the lowest-poverty schools have been there for at least four years, compared to only a third of teachers in the highest-poverty schools.
Figure 2c: Percent of Teachers in 2025-2026 Who Have Been at Their School for at Least Four Years
What This Means for Students and Families
It’s critical that students in high-need schools have consistent access to strong teachers. With nearly 20% of teachers leaving these schools, however, it’s unlikely that students are getting consistent instruction from effective educators, especially when open positions are filled with less-experienced, less-effective teachers. This turnover also means that students aren’t able to build lasting relationships with their teachers, which can impact their social-emotional experiences in school.
Early-Career Teachers Are Leaving Schools and Districts at Alarmingly High Rates—Especially at High-Poverty Schools
Most new teachers have had limited classroom practice prior to becoming responsible for a classroom of 25-30 elementary students or a full secondary roster of up to 150 students.
These teachers fill roles that look identical to those of more experienced educators, and they’re often responsible for teaching students who need the greatest support. This combination of inadequate preparation, challenging assignments, and lack of differentiation can be overwhelming for new teachers, leading to frustration and burnout.
WHAT THE DATA SHOWS
The rate of school-level turnover among teachers with up to two years of experience is most alarming. After the 2024-25 school year, one in four of these early-career teachers left their schools. Many left teaching in their state, which may indicate they left the profession entirely.
The proportion of teachers who move to other schools within their districts looks similar across experience levels, but that movement is potentially most detrimental to early-career teachers’ growth and development. Research shows that teachers who have repeated experience teaching the same grade level or subject area improve more rapidly than those whose experience is in varied grade levels or subjects.
Figure 3a: School-Level Teacher Turnover Between October 2024 and October 2025 by Years of Experience
Schools serving greater proportions of economically disadvantaged students tend to also have the most rookie teachers. In this sample, 18% of teachers in the highest-poverty schools are newer educators, compared to 10% in the lowest-poverty schools. However, this isn’t the only reason for high turnover rates at these schools. Turnover at high-poverty schools is higher than turnover at lower-poverty schools among teachers of all experience levels.
Figure 3b: Average Teacher Turnover by Years of Experience and School Poverty Level
What this means for students and families
Teachers experience the most professional growth during their first five years of teaching, so the high percentage of teachers leaving around this time underscores a cyclical impact: When schools face turnover among teachers with this level of experience, they lose those teachers’ potential and typically replace them with less-experienced (and often less-effective) teachers. When those less-experienced teachers face substantial challenges in high-poverty schools, they’re more likely to move to other schools, thus perpetuating the turnover cycle.
This cycle creates a compounding effect on student experiences and outcomes, as students lack consistent instruction, struggle to build lasting relationships with their teachers, and face unstable learning conditions.
Special Education Teachers Leave Their Schools at Higher Rates—and Many Exit the Specialty Entirely
Students with disabilities need high-quality instruction tailored to their unique learning needs. These supports are most effective when provided by well-prepared educators who ensure their students have access to grade-level content; understand their strengths and needs; and coordinate effectively with families, service providers, and general education teachers.
Ensuring access to strong special education teachers has become increasingly important over the past several years, as the proportion of students identified for special education continues to rise, even as overall K-12 public school enrollment has declined nationally.
However, special education teaching is often challenging and isolating, with a demanding workload. These teachers may support students across multiple grade levels, content areas, and disability types. Their schedules may not have built-in time to collaborate with their students’ general education teachers. And they have significant administrative responsibilities in writing and managing individualized education programs (IEPs). These challenging working conditions have contributed to special education being a persistently hard area to staff in many school systems, hindering schools’ abilities to provide students with consistent access to strong instruction.
WHAT THE DATA SHOWS
After the 2024-25 school year, special education teachers left their schools at substantially higher rates (19%) than general education teachers (14%). In Connecticut, Nebraska, and Washington, special education teacher turnover exceeded general education turnover by six or more percentage points. This gap is mostly driven by special education teachers transferring schools or moving districts at higher rates rather than leaving teaching in the state. By contrast, Pennsylvania has substantially lower special education teacher turnover (14%) and a much closer rate compared to general education teacher turnover (12%).
Figure 4a: School-Level Teacher Turnover Between October 2024 and October 2025 by Teacher Type
Special education turnover rises to 21% when we account for teachers who continue teaching but move to general education roles. In Georgia, 6% of special education teachers transitioned to general education roles after the 2024-2025 school year, though a study by the Brookings Institute found that this movement is as high as 15% in some states. This pattern of teachers deliberately stepping away from special education while continuing to teach—often in the same school—reinforces the need to redesign the structure of special education teaching roles to be more sustainable.
Figure 4b: School-Level Teacher Turnover Between October 2024 and October 2025 by Teacher Type
What this means for students and families
When special education teachers leave their schools, students end up with teachers that must learn their unique learning needs and build relationships with them, their families, and their other educators.
One study showed that teacher burnout and stress lead to lower teaching quality and student engagement, which in turn negatively impacts IEP outcomes. Another study showed that both special education and general education teacher turnover negatively impacts test scores for students with disabilities, particularly in elementary English language arts. Therefore, students with disabilities in inclusion settings at schools with high rates of teacher turnover across the board are doubly affected.
What Education Leaders Can Do
Both district and state education leaders have a responsibility—and an opportunity—to address this vicious cycle of teacher turnover. To do so, they need to make the teaching job more attractive, sustainable, and supportive—particularly in schools and districts where most students are experiencing poverty.
State leaders can establish policies, incentives, and guidance to support districts in this work.
District leaders can use their funds to pilot teacher retention strategies in high-need schools, while also addressing systemwide policies and practices that will enable lasting change. These practices include:
- Making the teaching job more sustainable in high-need schools and for special education teachers. District leaders can focus on creating schedules that enable more time for professional learning and collaboration; forming team-based structures that enable work sharing; and supporting strong school leaders.
- Investing in “shelter-and-develop” models for early-career teachers, especially in high-need schools and for special education teachers. These models reduce workloads for rookie teachers and provide opportunities to learn and practice with expert support.
- Targeting teacher compensation increases to enable early-career teachers to earn a living wage and incentivize effective teachers to enter and stay in special education roles. These increases can also support teacher leadership roles that enable strong teachers to expand their reach and earn more without leaving the classroom.
- Considering the unintended impact of district policies, including seniority-based transfer policies that affect principals’ ability to make decisions for their schools and “last in, first out” policies that lay off teachers based on experience rather than effectiveness. Both policies contribute to teacher turnover in the highest-need schools, as those schools tend to have a higher concentration of less-experienced teachers.
Teacher turnover is a pervasive issue, one that many districts continue to face as they continue to work to recover from the pandemic. But with a strategic focus on supporting teachers—particularly rookie teachers and those in high-need schools—education leaders can work toward stopping the turnover cycle and making the teaching job more sustainable for all educators.
Data and Methodology Notes
We used public information requests to collect five years’ worth of public school system employment data from six states across the country: Connecticut, Georgia, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington. Our analysis specifically looks at teachers who were employed in each state on October 1 of each year from 2021 to 2025. We weren’t able to access data for Nebraska for the 2021-2022 school year, so that state is excluded from that year of analysis.
We calculated turnover rates within each state, district, and school as the number of teachers who were employed on October 1 of year n and were still employed in the same location on October 1 of year n+1, divided by the total number of teachers employed on October 1, year n.
We calculated cross-state averages as the straight, unweighted average of turnover rates across states among a given group of teachers. In other words, state size does not affect the relative impact of one state’s experience over another.
We conducted school-level poverty analyses by sorting schools into buckets based on the proportion of students that qualify for free and reduced lunch or are directly certified.