State of the States 2021: State Reporting of Teacher Supply and Demand Data

• Published in: National Council on Teacher Quality
• Main Author: Saenz-Armstrong, Patricia
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: National Council on Teacher Quality 01.12.2021
• Subjects: Barriers; Data Analysis; Data Collection; Decision Making; Educational Legislation; Educational Policy; Elementary Secondary Education; Equal Education; Faculty Mobility; Federal Legislation; Geographic Regions; Information Sources; Labor Force; School Districts; State Departments of Education; Teacher Persistence; Teacher Selection; Teacher Shortage; Teacher Supply and Demand; North Carolina; Colorado; Illinois; Massachusetts; Kentucky; Delaware; Arkansas; Nebraska; Michigan

For any labor market to function properly, clear information is needed to guide decision making; its absence invariably leads to less than optimal decisions and inefficiencies. While the broader labor market is riddled with imperfect information, the teacher labor market is particularly vulnerable--largely for the lack of the most basic information. This analysis examines the essential role of state education agencies in collecting and reporting information about their own teacher labor markets in the following areas: (1) teacher shortages and surpluses; (2) teacher retention and mobility; and (3) equitable distribution of the teacher workforce. Compared to most labor markets, the teacher labor market is highly localized, meaning that the hiring decision processes usually happen within the confines of small geographical areas, often blind to the existing resources and needs of nearby localities. This hyperlocalization limits job opportunities for teachers and hiring opportunities for schools and exacerbates inequities across school districts, which is why states play such an essential role in the generation and provision of information, given their broader scope and perspective. States' data reporting can apprise districts of the available teacher talent across the state and provide them with a broader view to help them fashion appropriate policies to respond to the issues that exist within their own teacher labor market. As there is a wide and uneven distribution of technical capacity and practices among the consumers of this information, this brief also examines how state education agencies help make this information both available and functional for their end users.