Teacher Attrition and Mobility: Results From the Teacher Follow-up Survey, 2000-01, The Education Statistics Quarterly: Vol. 6, Issue 3, 2004

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Vol 6, Issue 3, Topic: Elementary and Secondary Education

Teacher Attrition and Mobility: Results From the Teacher Follow-up Survey, 2000–01

By: Michael T. Luekens, Deanna M. Lyter, and Erin E. Fox

This article was originally published as the summary of the E.D. TAB report of the same name. The sample survey data are from the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) and the Teacher Follow-up Survey (TFS).

Introduction
Data Source
Organization of the Report
Selected Findings

Introduction

Between the 1999–2000 and 2000–01 school years, approximately 8 percent of public and private school teachers transferred to a different school and 7 percent and 13 percent of public and private school teachers, respectively, chose to leave the teaching profession. Teachers who change schools or leave the teaching profession create difficulties for school administrators who must spend valuable time and resources to adequately staff their classrooms. Additionally, teachers moving and leaving raises questions about the professional satisfaction of teachers. In order to gain an understanding of the professional motivations of teachers who leave their positions, three related questions must be examined.

First, who is most likely to move or leave? Understanding trends in teachers moving and leaving will enable policymakers to target those teachers who are most likely to leave their positions.
Second, why do teachers move or leave? It is important to understand the underlying reasons for these decisions to develop strategies to retain teachers.
Finally, where do teachers go when they move or leave? Information about what teachers do after they leave their position, and how these new positions compare to teaching, provides insight about the professional needs of teachers.

This report seeks to shed light on these questions by examining the characteristics of teachers who left the teaching profession between the 1999–2000 and 2000–01 school years ("leavers"), teachers who continued teaching but changed schools ("movers"), and teachers who continued teaching in the same school in 2000–01 ("stayers").

Data Source

The Teacher Follow-up Survey (TFS) is a 1-year follow-up of a sample of approximately 8,400 teachers who were originally selected for the teacher component in the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS). The Schools and Staffing Survey is an integrated set of surveys of public and private schools, principals, teachers, library media centers, and public school districts throughout the United States of America. There have been four data cycles for the Schools and Staffing Survey, and likewise, four Teacher Follow-up Surveys.

The 2000–01 Teacher Follow-up Survey data in this report link responses from the 2000–01 school year to characteristics of those same teachers who participated in SASS during the 1999–2000 school year. Within this report, there are some data that are drawn directly from the 1999–2000 SASS. These data are termed "base-year" because the SASS sample is the "base" for the teachers who are selected for the Teacher Follow-up Survey. Base-year characteristics include personal and professional descriptors of the teacher (age, sex, race/ethnicity, teaching assignment field), as well as characteristics of the school in which the teachers worked in 1999–2000 (whether the school was public or private, region of the country in which the school was located, and the community type or locale of the school). These "base-year" characteristics provide the context for the data collected in the Teacher Follow-up Survey.

The purpose of the Teacher Follow-up Survey is to provide information about teacher mobility and attrition. For example, how do teachers who remain teaching at the same school from year to year ("stayers") compare with those who do not? How many teachers move from one school to another school ("movers")? What percentage of teachers leave the profession between one year and the next ("leavers")? These types of questions can be answered with data from the Teacher Follow-up Survey. For teachers who leave the profession, TFS asks about their occupational status (are former teachers working, retired, or caring for family members?) or whether they are seeking further education, and reasons for leaving teaching, as well as recommendations for how schools might retain teachers. Those who remain in teaching are asked about changes in teaching assignment, opinions about retaining teachers, and retirement plans. Teachers who move from one school to another are asked to describe the type of school to which they moved. Furthermore, data from the Teacher Follow-up Survey can be used to compare attrition and mobility across the public and private school sectors.

Approximately 3,300 stayers, 2,200 movers, and 2,800 leavers were included in the initial 2000–01 Teacher Follow-up Survey sample. A questionnaire for former teachers was mailed to leavers, while stayers and movers were mailed a separate questionnaire for current teachers. The unit survey response rate for the TFS was 90 percent (90 percent for current teachers and 89 percent for former teachers), and 97 percent of questionnaire items had a response rate of 90 percent or higher. The cumulative overall response rate for the Teacher Follow-up Survey is based on the response rate to the SASS teacher listing form, the SASS teacher questionnaire response rate, and the TFS response rate. Because TFS estimates are based on a sample, they may differ somewhat from the values obtained from administering a complete census using the same questionnaire, instructions, and procedures.

Organization of the Report

The body of this report is organized around the three previously described questions related to teacher attrition and mobility in the United States: Who is most likely to move or leave? Why do teachers move or leave? Where do these teachers go? A set of tables with data from the 2000–01 Teacher Follow-up Survey is presented for each question.

The first section, "Who is most likely to move or leave?," presents basic information on base-year (1999–2000) teachers who left the teaching profession ("leavers"), as well as corresponding characteristics of teachers who remained in their base-year schools ("stayers") or who moved to another school to teach during the 2000–01 school year ("movers"). The number and percentage of stayers, movers, and leavers are reported along a number of selected teacher, school, and job characteristics, as well as teachers' plans to remain in teaching, as reported in SASS in 1999–2000. This section also includes the average income levels of stayers, movers, and leavers during the 1999–2000 school year.

The second section, "Why do teachers move or leave?," includes current and former teachers' satisfaction with their base-year schools; their perceptions of the administrators, instructional leaders, and staff at their base-year schools; and the reasons movers and leavers gave for leaving the school in which they taught in 1999–2000.

Finally, the section titled "Where do teachers go when they move or leave?" reports the current main occupational status of former teachers, as well as how those teachers perceived their current jobs relative to their former teaching positions. The percentage of base-year teachers moving across schools, school districts, and sectors is also considered in this section, as are data on base-year teachers who retired from the teaching profession between the 1999–2000 and 2000–01 school years.

Many of the tables found in this report present findings by a set of selected teacher and school characteristics. Included among these characteristics are the sector (public or private) and level of the school (elementary, secondary, or combined-grade) at which the respondent taught during the 1999–2000 school year, the main assignment field (e.g., mathematics, science) and teaching status (full-time or part-time) of the respondent in 1999–2000, and the current or former teachers' years of teaching experience, age, sex, and race/ethnicity. Public school teachers include those who teach in public charter schools as well as in traditional public schools.

Selected Findings

Who is most likely to move or leave?

Between the 1999–2000 and 2000–01 school years, 85 percent of all public school teachers remained at the same school, 8 percent moved to a different school, and 7 percent left the teaching profession. A higher proportion of public school teachers left the profession between the 1999–2000 and 2000–01 school years compared to the 1990–91 to 1991–92 and 1987–88 to 1988-89 school years.
Between 1999–2000 and 2000–01, private school teachers were more likely to leave teaching (13 percent) than their public school counterparts (7 percent). Conversely, public school teachers were more likely to stay, and 8 percent of the teachers in both sectors moved.
Public and private school teachers with fewer than 10 years of teaching experience were more likely than their more experienced colleagues to move to a different school between the 1999–2000 and 2000–01 school years. Additionally, private school teachers with 1 to 3 years of experience were more likely to leave the profession than more experienced teachers.
Public and private school teachers who were younger than age 30 were also more likely to move than older teachers in both sectors (table A). In public and private schools, respectively, 16 percent and 13 percent of teachers who were less than 30 years old transferred to another school. Public school teachers who were older than 50 years of age or younger than 30 years of age were more likely to leave the teaching profession after 1999–2000 than other public school teachers, while private school teachers younger than 30 years old were also more likely to leave than their older counterparts.
Approximately 34 percent of public school movers earned $40,000 or more in 1999–2000, in comparison to 50 percent of public school stayers and leavers. Additionally, both public school movers and leavers were more likely to earn less than $30,000 (23 percent and 21 percent, respectively) compared to public school stayers (16 percent). Similar trends appear among private school teachers. For example, 69 percent of private school leavers and 68 percent of movers reported earning less than $30,000 in annual income, compared to 54 percent of private school stayers.*
Many public and private school leavers did not plan to leave the teaching profession when asked during the base year. Twenty-seven percent of public school leavers and 40 percent of private school leavers stated in 1999–2000 that they planned to remain in teaching as long as they were able. Nineteen percent and 32 percent of public and private school leavers, respectively, were undecided about their future plans to remain in teaching when asked during the base year.

Table A. Number and percentage of public and private school teacher stayers, movers, and leavers, by selected school and teacher characteristics: 1999–2000 to 2000–01

School or teacher characteristic Public Private

Number Percentage Number Percentage

Stayers

Movers

Leavers

Stayers

Movers

Leavers

Stayers

Movers

Leavers

Stayers

Movers

Leavers

Total 2,542,200 231,000 221,400 84.9 7.7 7.4 354,800 37,600 56,200 79.1 8.4 12.5

Teaching experience

1-3 years 372,900 66,500 43,100 77.3 13.8 8.9 68,400 11,200 24,200 65.9 10.8 23.3

4-9 years 583,700 76,200 48,600 82.4 10.8 6.9 88,200 13,500 15,200 75.4 11.6 13.0

10-19 years 678,200 52,400 47,700 87.1 6.7 6.1 102,600 6,900 7,800 87.5 5.9 6.6

20 years or more 907,500 35,900 82,100 88.5 3.5 8.0 95,600 6,000 9,000 86.5 5.4 8.2

Age

Less than 30 years 367,900 77,200 47,300 74.7 15.7 9.6 55,700 11,100 19,700 64.4 12.8 22.8

30-39 years 601,200 60,800 46,300 84.9 8.6 6.5 81,000 9,200 14,300 77.5 8.8 13.7

40-49 years 810,600 61,300 41,700 88.7 6.7 4.6 112,200 10,300 11,400 83.8 7.7 8.5

50 years or more 762,600 31,700 86,100 86.6 3.6 9.8 105,800 7,000 10,800 85.6 5.7 8.7

Sex

Male 633,700 43,800 53,800 86.7 6.0 7.4 84,500 7,500 12,200 81.1 7.2 11.7

Female 1,908,500 187,200 167,600 84.3 8.3 7.4 270,300 30,100 44,000 78.5 8.8 12.8

Race/ethnicity

White, non-Hispanic 2,158,100 191,900 190,400 85.0 7.6 7.5 317,300 34,800 49,600 79.0 8.7 12.3

American Indian or Alaska Native 19,900 1,100 1,700 87.9 4.7 7.5 2,900 100 700 76.9 2.9 20.2

Asian or Pacific Islander 43,100 8,600 1,100 81.7 16.2 2.1 4,500 500 1,600 68.6 7.2 24.2

Black, non-Hispanic 183,600 18,100 16,200 84.3 8.3 7.4 12,000 300 2,100 83.2 2.1 14.8

Hispanic 137,500 11,400 12,000 85.4 7.1 7.5 18,100 2,000 2,100 81.5 8.9 9.6

Main assignment field

Arts and music 155,400 21,900 15,600 80.6 11.4 8.1 25,100 2,400 2,300 84.3 8.1 7.7

English/language arts 263,100 22,500 19,100 86.3 7.4 6.3 30,000 3,300 4,700 79.0 8.7 12.3

General elementary 858,100 84,300 73,400 84.5 8.3 7.2 132,100 14,800 22,900 77.8 8.7 13.5

Mathematics 178,900 13,500 19,000 84.6 6.4 9.0 29,500 3,100 6,400 75.6 8.0 16.4

Science 158,300 12,400 13,500 85.9 6.7 7.3 25,600 3,600 2,700 80.2 11.4 8.4

Social studies 134,100 7,300 13,600 86.5 4.7 8.8 24,800 1,600 3,800 82.3 5.1 12.6

Special education 263,500 33,000 28,300 81.1 10.2 8.7 13,100 1,700 1,500 80.2 10.5 9.4

Other 530,800 36,100 38,900 87.6 6.0 6.4 74,600 7,100 11,900 79.7 7.6 12.7

Teaching status

Full-time 2,306,500 201,200 194,800 85.4 7.4 7.2 297,800 31,200 43,000 80.1 8.4 11.6

Part-time 235,700 29,900 26,600 80.7 10.2 9.1 57,000 6,400 13,100 74.4 8.4 17.2

Region

Northeast 525,300 32,700 35,500 88.5 5.5 6.0 82,500 9,100 12,500 79.2 8.8 12.0

Midwest 646,900 51,800 48,300 86.6 6.9 6.5 91,900 9,700 14,200 79.4 8.4 12.3

South 894,900 104,300 94,700 81.8 9.5 8.7 116,700 11,400 20,700 78.4 7.7 13.9

West 475,100 42,300 43,000 84.8 7.6 7.7 63,800 7,400 8,800 79.8 9.2 11.0

Community type

Central city 683,600 65,400 57,300 84.8 8.1 7.1 166,800 18,500 25,600 79.1 8.8 12.1

Urban fringe/large town 1,276,800 117,100 118,000 84.5 7.8 7.8 146,800 13,800 21,400 80.7 7.6 11.8

Rural/small town 581,800 48,600 46,000 86.0 7.2 6.8 41,200 5,300 9,200 74.0 9.5 16.5

School level

Elementary 1,668,600 168,800 133,600 84.7 8.6 6.8 170,700 22,200 23,900 78.8 10.2 11.0

Secondary 817,600 59,200 82,900 85.2 6.2 8.6 64,200 7,000 6,600 82.5 9.0 8.5

Combined 56,000 3,000 4,900 87.6 4.8 7.7 119,900 8,500 25,700 77.8 5.5 16.7

School enrollment

Less than 200 students 148,400 17,800 15,200 81.8 9.8 8.4 117,000 14,100 23,700 75.6 9.1 15.3

200-349 students 279,900 29,300 22,200 84.5 8.8 6.7 88,300 10,700 13,100 78.8 9.5 11.7

350-499 students 408,200 36,300 35,300 85.1 7.6 7.4 53,300 4,200 6,600 83.2 6.5 10.3

500-749 students 704,500 68,000 59,000 84.7 8.2 7.1 42,800 3,700 5,800 81.9 7.1 11.1

750 students or more 1,001,300 79,600 89,800 85.5 6.8 7.7 53,300 4,900 7,100 81.6 7.6 10.8

Minority enrollment

Less than 10 percent 873,600 66,700 70,000 86.5 6.6 6.9 197,300 20,700 30,200 79.5 8.4 12.2

10-34 percent 714,700 64,800 58,600 85.3 7.7 7.0 100,700 10,100 15,700 79.6 8.0 12.4

35 percent or more 954,000 99,500 92,800 83.2 8.7 8.1 56,800 6,800 10,300 77.0 9.2 13.9

NOTE: Stayers are teachers who were teaching in the same school in the current school year as in the previous school year. Movers are teachers who were still teaching in the current school year but had moved to a different school after the previous school year. Leavers are teachers who left the teaching profession after the previous school year. Total numbers are rounded to the nearest 100. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1999–2000 Schools and Staffing Survey (“Public School Teacher Questionnaire,” “Public Charter School Teacher Questionnaire,” and “Private School Teacher Questionnaire”) and 2000–01 Teacher Follow-up Survey (“Questionnaire for Current Teachers” and “Questionnaire for Former Teachers”). (Originally published as table 3 on p. 11 of the complete report from which this article is excerpted.)

Why do teachers move or leave?

Among the reasons that public school teachers gave in 2000–01 for moving to a new school were an opportunity for a better teaching assignment (40 percent), dissatisfaction with support from administrators (38 percent), and dissatisfaction with workplace conditions (32 percent).

Like public school movers, private school movers frequently cited an opportunity for a better teaching assignment (42 percent) and dissatisfaction with support from administrators (41 percent) as reasons for changing schools following the 1999–2000 school year. However, private school movers more frequently reported changing schools to obtain a better salary or benefits (48 percent) than public school movers (19 percent).

Twenty-nine percent of public school leavers reported in 2000–01 that they left the teaching profession in order to retire and about 20 percent each reported that they left to pursue another career and obtain a better salary or benefits. Private school leavers also frequently reported that they left teaching to pursue another career (31 percent) or obtain a better salary or benefits (28 percent). However, private school leavers were less likely than public school teachers to report that they left in order to retire (11 percent).

Among public and private school teachers who left the teaching profession between 1999–2000 and 2000–01, larger percentages of women than men cited pregnancy/child rearing and health as very important or extremely important reasons in their decision to leave teaching. Conversely, men were more likely than women to report leaving their public or private school teaching position for a better salary or benefits, to pursue another career, or to take courses to improve their career opportunities within or outside the field of education.

One-half of all black, non-Hispanic public school leavers in 2000–01 cited retirement as a very or extremely important reason in their decision to leave teaching, compared to 28 percent of white leavers. Black, non-Hispanic public school leavers (44 percent) were also more likely to report that they left teaching to pursue a better salary or benefits than white, non-Hispanic (17 percent), Hispanic (13 percent), and American Indian or Asian (13 percent) leavers.

Of public school teachers who left teaching after the 1999–2000 school year and who were drawing a pension in 2000–01, about three-quarters indicated that their eligibility to receive full pension benefits was a very or extremely important factor in their decision to retire. Eligibility for an early retirement incentive was also an important factor in the decision to retire for about one-quarter (27 percent) of these former teachers.

Public school movers were generally more likely to report dissatisfaction with their teaching experience in their former school than public school leavers (table B). For example, movers were more likely to report that they were not satisfied with their salary at their 1999–2000 school (29 percent) than leavers (22 percent). Additionally, public school movers were more likely to report that student behavior was a problem (25 percent) than leavers (13 percent).

A comparison of private school movers' and leavers' levels of satisfaction with aspects of their 1999–2000 school shows that movers were less satisfied than leavers with the salary and benefits they received (table B). Private school movers were also more likely than leavers to report that they had neither enough influence over the school's policies and practices nor enough autonomy and control over the classroom in 1999–2000.

Movers were more critical of the instructional leader at their 1999–2000 school than stayers, in both public and private schools, on all eight measures included in the Teacher Follow-up Survey. Public school movers were also less likely than leavers to report that their 1999–2000 instructional leader was very or extremely effective at communicating respect and value of teachers, encouraging teachers to change teaching methods if students were not doing well, encouraging professional collaboration among teachers, and working with teaching staff to solve school or department problems. Private school movers were more critical of their previous year's instructional leader than private school leavers on one measure: encouraging teachers to change teaching methods if students were not doing well.

Private school movers and leavers were less likely than private school stayers to rate their former instructional leader as being effective on a variety of measures. For example, 66 percent of stayers, 41 percent of movers, and 46 percent of leavers reported that their instructional leader was effective at encouraging professional collaboration among teachers in the 1999–2000 school year. Sixty-three percent of stayers, 39 percent of movers, and 40 percent of leavers reported that their instructional leader was very or extremely effective at facilitating and encouraging professional development activities of teachers. Additionally, 70 percent of stayers reported that their instructional leader was very or extremely effective at communicating respect and value of teachers compared to 52 percent of movers and 61 percent of leavers.

Movers were generally less satisfied than stayers with their former school's administrators and staff. For example, fewer public and private school movers strongly agreed that there was a great deal of cooperative effort among staff members at their 1999–2000 school compared to public and private school stayers.

Table B. Percentage of public and private school teacher movers and leavers who strongly agreed or strongly disagreed with various statements about their former schools: 2000–01

Statement Public Private

Strongly agreed Strongly disagreed Strongly agreed Strongly disagreed

Movers Leavers Movers Leavers Movers Leavers Movers Leavers

I was satisfied with my salary. 11.8 12.3 29.1 21.9 7.5 12.7 47.1 34.4

The school or district offered satisfactory benefits. 20.9 24.7 11.0 4.8 13.1 18.9 31.4 19.3

I was satisfied with the level of job security at the school (e.g., the possibility of being laid off). 37.5 56.3 10.1 7.7 33.2 42.3 23.0 13.7

In thinking of all the factors that influenced my satisfaction with teaching in last year's school, overall, I was satisfied 19.0 29.3 24.4 16.8 18.8 31.1 19.2 12.5

In thinking of all the factors that influenced my satisfaction with teaching in general, overall, I was satisfied. † 28.4 † 7.4 † 31.3 † 6.2

The school facility (buildings and grounds) was in need of significant repair. 22.4 14.5 26.1 30.6 17.4 12.5 27.2 34.1

The school was located in a safe neighborhood. 40.4 52.0 7.8 3.3 51.6 56.7 6.7 3.8

I felt safe at the school. 40.1 53.5 6.0 2.2 62.2 58.6 1.4 0.9

The school's security policies and practices were sufficient. 33.1 39.2 9.2 4.5 36.4 46.7 5.3 2.8

Student behavior was a problem. 24.9 12.8 15.0 20.0 10.7 11.1 33.9 36.4

Most of the students in the school were motivated to learn. 16.7 19.7 12.0 9.8 33.9 32.3 6.6 6.9

The school emphasized academic success. 35.3 49.4 5.9 2.3 48.4 55.1 4.6 3.2

I received little support from parents. 18.2 9.7 17.4 24.8 10.6 4.3 39.7 41.0

The school received little support from the community. 14.4 5.1 23.8 27.0 12.7 6.1 30.3 34.1

The procedures for teacher performance evaluation were satisfactory. 20.3 24.2 10.8 10.9 22.1 21.6 21.7 15.0

I was satisfied with the policies and practices for assigning students to classes or sections for instruction. 17.5 18.7 15.4 13.2 28.7 24.1 10.2 9.6

Some of the classes or sections I taught were too large. 27.6 26.1 19.1 18.4 17.0 10.9 39.2 41.4

I was satisfied with the grade(s) I was assigned to teach. 54.5 64.1 7.0 3.4 54.2 60.0 4.7 2.7

I was satisfied with the subject(s) I was assigned to teach. 54.7 67.2 4.5 1.0 62.6 63.6 3.9 3.8

I often felt that my teaching workload was too heavy. 30.6 24.2 10.8 13.6 26.1 17.4 19.7 20.3

At last year's school, including (mainstreaming) special needs (e.g., disabled) students in regular classes made it difficult for me to teach. 17.2 12.2 18.7 25.5 7.0 5.3 31.8 34.3

I did not have enough influence over the school's policies and practices. 23.5 13.7 9.0 13.2 29.0 17.0 12.7 13.9

I was satisfied with the amount of autonomy and control I had over my own classroom. 32.1 46.1 7.0 4.4 41.8 52.6 9.1 2.7

Computers and other technology for my classroom(s) were sufficiently available. 19.7 23.5 24.0 18.3 19.9 22.3 25.0 17.5

Resources and materials/equipment for my classroom(s) were sufficiently available 22.3 26.6 19.6 12.7 22.9 23.1 13.5 12.1

There was not enough time available for planning and preparation during a typical week at the school. 33.4 34.1 7.8 13.9 31.1 26.0 15.2 19.2

There was not enough uninterrupted class time available for instruction. 12.3 10.4 14.6 23.5 13.8 13.2 19.3 25.8

The professional caliber of the faculty at the school was high. 28.6 41.5 8.1 2.2 33.3 43.9 7.1 7.2

There were many opportunities to collaborate with other teachers in the school. 17.7 20.7 16.5 15.5 26.5 25.9 15.8 9.6

The school administrators' behavior toward the staff was supportive and encouraging. 25.9 38.6 24.3 13.3 31.3 41.3 26.3 17.8

I was pleased with the opportunities for professional advancement (promotion) offered to teachers at the school. 11.0 13.7 18.8 16.2 17.7 10.0 26.9 23.4

I was pleased with the opportunities for professional development (learning/training) offered to teachers at the school. 16.0 20.9 10.8 12.5 19.9 13.7 24.2 18.2

Required professional development activities at the school usually closely matched my professional development goals. 11.3 14.7 19.2 20.4 12.5 12.9 20.4 16.3

† Not applicable.
NOTE: Movers are teachers who were still teaching in the current school year but had moved to a different school after the previous school year. Leavers are teachers who left the teaching profession after the previous school year. Response choices were based on a 5-point scale, and included the following: “Strongly agree,” “Somewhat agree,” “Neither agree nor disagree,” “Somewhat disagree,” and “Strongly disagree.” This table includes the percent of movers and leavers who responded “Strongly agree” or “Strongly disagree.”
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2000–01 Teacher Follow-up Survey (“Questionnaire for Current Teachers” and “Questionnaire for Former Teachers”). (Originally published as table 9 on p. 21 of the complete report from which this article is excerpted.)

Where do teachers go when they move or leave?

Between the 1999–2000 and 2000–01 school years, private school movers were much more likely to transfer to the public school sector (53 percent) than public school movers were to transfer to the private school sector (2 percent). Additionally, switching to the public school sector was more common among private school teachers with less than 5 years' experience (61 percent) than among those with 5 or more years' experience (48 percent).

About half (53 percent) of public school movers chose to move to a public school in a different school district for the 2000–01 school year, while 45 percent moved to a different school but remained in the same public school district.

Public school leavers were most likely to specify "retired" as their main occupational status in 2000–01 (28 percent), whereas private school leavers were most likely to report that they were working in an occu-pation outside the field of education (30 percent) or were caring for family members (24 percent). About 20 percent of public school leavers and 14 percent of private school leavers continued to work in a K-12 school in 2000–01, but were no longer teaching.

Of leavers who reported that their main occupational status in 2000–01 was working, private school leavers (67 percent) were more likely than public school leavers (32 percent) to be employed in the private sector. Fifty-nine percent and 23 percent of public and private school leavers whose main occupational status was working, respectively, reported being employed by the local, state, or federal government.

Leavers who were working in a nonteaching position in 2000–01 were asked to compare their current position to their 1999–2000 teaching position on 17 occupational characteristics, like salary, intellectual challenge, availability of resources, and recognition and support from administrators or managers (table C). Of leavers who did not report "no difference" between the two positions, public school leavers indicated that 15 of the 17 characteristics were better in their current position than in teaching, with the exception of benefits and job security. Similarly, private school leavers were more likely to report that 16 of the 17 characteristics were better in their current position than better in teaching. There was no statistically significant difference in whether job security was better in one position or another.

In comparing their new positions with teaching, half or more of both public and private school leavers who selected working as their main occupational status reported that the manageability of their workload, opportunities for professional advancement, professional prestige, and general work conditions were better in their current (2000–01) positions (table C). Private school leavers were more likely to report that they received a better salary in their current position (65 percent) than were public school leavers (44 percent).

Table C. Percentage of public and private school teacher leavers who were working that rated various aspects of their current main occupation as better than teaching, not better than teaching, or no difference: 2000–01

Occupation characteristic Public Private

Better in teaching

Better in current position

No difference

Better in teaching

Better in current position

No difference

Salary 30.1 43.8 26.1 19.2 65.0 15.8

Benefits 39.6 20.3 40.0 22.4 53.9 23.7

Job security 31.0 19.2 49.7 23.1 32.9 44.0

Intellectual challenge 17.4 51.8 30.8 29.4 42.4 28.2

Opportunities for professional development 19.0 41.7 39.3 19.0 51.7 29.4

Professional prestige 15.8 57.7 26.5 21.1 55.8 23.0

General work conditions 4.3 50.9 44.8 11.2 54.9 33.9

Safety of environment 10.9 29.7 59.5 16.2 28.3 55.5

Manageability of workload 13.5 60.4 26.1 8.1 63.4 28.4

Procedures for performance evaluation 17.9 38.0 44.1 16.4 40.6 43.1

Autonomy or control over own work 13.7 65.2 21.1 24.1 45.5 30.4

Influence over workplace policies and practices 17.5 49.0 33.4 22.8 40.7 36.5

Availability of resources and materials/equipment for doing job 19.8 44.0 36.3 8.5 56.3 35.2

Recognition and support from administrators/managers 19.7 46.8 33.6 15.8 52.1 32.1

Professional caliber of colleagues 14.9 27.0 58.2 20.7 35.4 43.9

Opportunities for learning from colleagues 21.2 40.4 38.4 25.9 41.4 32.7

Opportunities for professional advancement 18.1 53.9 28.0 11.9 61.1 27.0

NOTE: Leavers are teachers who left the teaching profession after the previous school year. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2000–01 Teacher Follow-up Survey (“Questionnaire for Former Teachers”). (Originally published as table 14 on p. 25 of the complete report from which this is excerpted.)

Footnotes
* For more information regarding public and private school teachers' average salaries and earned income, please see tables 76-79 in the Digest of Education Statistics 2002 (NCES 2003-060), U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics.

Data source: The NCES Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), "Public School Teacher Questionnaire," "Public Charter School Teacher Questionnaire," and "Private School Teacher Questionnaire," 1999–2000; and the Teacher Follow-up Survey (TFS), "Questionnaire for Current Teachers" and "Questionnaire for Former Teachers," 2000–01.
For technical information, see the complete report:
Luekens, M.T., Lyter, D.M., and Fox, E.E. (2004). Teacher Attrition and Mobility: Results From the Teacher Follow-up Survey, 2000–01 (NCES 2004-301).
Author affiliations: M.T. Luekens, D.M. Lyter, and E.E. Fox, Education Statistics Services Institute.
For questions about content, contact Kerry Gruber (kerry.gruber@ed.gov).
To obtain the complete report (NCES 2004-301), call the toll-free ED Pubs number (877-433-7827) or visit the NCES Electronic Catalog (http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch).