TACKLING TEACHER TURNOVER
Several studies have connected teacher turnover to declines in student outcomes. Research from the PRiME Center by Dr. Cameron Anglum found that first-year teachers are 70% more likely than the average teacher to leave Missouri public education.
Novice teachers’ five-year retention has declined over the past decade from 65% to 61%. That is, nearly four in ten teachers who began their careers in Missouri public schools have left for other employment prior to the sixth year of teaching.
The most recent cohorts of new, early-career teachers are leaving Missouri public schools faster than earlier cohorts, placing additional strain on the capacities of teacher preparation programs across the state to produce an increasing number of new teachers.
To improve teacher turnover and address chronic teacher shortages in the subject matters and school contexts in which they occur, increased focus should be devoted to early-career teachers through new policy reforms and school labor practices.
Read more about teacher turnover here.
Published March 2026
MORE FROM THE PRiME BLOGS
Several studies have connected teacher turnover to declines in student outcomes. First-year teachers are 70% more likely than the average teacher to leave Missouri public education. Fewer and fewer teachers persist through their early-career years, with only six in ten reaching their sixth year in Missouri public education. Policymakers and education leaders should strategize ways to improve early-career teacher working conditions, training, and professional opportunities.