20 Enlightening Teacher Facts

By Karin Lehnardt, Senior Writer

Published August 19, 2016Updated October 31, 2024

A University of Pennsylvania study found that 33% of teachers leave within the first three years of beginning their careers and 46% leave within the first five. The numbers have been increasing since the late 1980s._[4]
A teacher’s contract day does not include time spent at home planning lessons or grading student work. Work at home can range form one hour in the evening planning the next day’s lesson or 16 hours on the weekend grading dozens of essays._[5]

Growing stress is pushing teachers out of the profession

Researchers note a teacher should be compared to those of other high stress jobs, such as air-traffic controllers, firefighters, or pilots._[1]
Teachers make 14% less than people in other professions that require similar levels of education._[1]
According to the Census Bureau, Pre-K-12 teachers form the largest occupational group in the United States, and it continues to grow._[1]
Approximately 92.4% of teachers spend their own money on their students or classrooms._[5]
The most common reason a person leaves teaching is the low salary._[4]

Teachers appreciate creative gifts

A survey of teachers revealed that they have enough mugs, frames, and stuffed animals. They appreciate a gift card to places like Staples or Starbucks—or, even better, a thank you note._[5]
Teacher retirements have always represented only a small portion of all those leaving teaching, less than a third in recent years. For all departures of teachers from schools (both going from one school to another and leaving teaching altogether), retirement is only about 14% of the total outflow._[4]
Since 1950, there has been a 96% increase in students and a 252% increase in teaching staff._[4]
Although minorities have entered the teaching profession at higher rates than whites in recent decades, reports show that minority teachers leave schools at considerably higher rates than that of white teachers._[4]
Within most fields and majors, reports show that those students who became teachers had lower SAT scores than those in the same field/major who did not go into teaching._[1]
Teachers have an equal turnover rate to police officers and less than child care workers, secretaries, and paralegals. Teaching has a higher turnover rate than nursing and a far higher turnover than “traditionally respected professions” such as law, engineering, architecture, and academia._[1]
The modal age of retirement for teachers is about 59 years old._[4]
In 1987–88 there were about 65,000 first-year teachers, and by 2007–08, there were over 200,000._[1]
Approximately a tenth of newly hired first-year teachers come out of top two categories of higher education (as ranked by Barrons’). Two-thirds of first-year teachers come from middle-level institutions. About a quarter come from the bottom two categories._[1]
At least 20% of public school teachers report having second jobs outside of the field of education._[4]
May 7 is National Teacher Appreciation Day._[2]

Teachers have heard it all

Teachers note that kids dish on their parents’ secrets all the time, including money problems, religion, politics, and even their dad’s vasectomy._[5]
In 2024, the average high school teachers made $54,672 per year. Elementary school teachers make about $49,014 per year._[3]