The newest data come from the fall 2024 American School District Panel (ASDP) national survey, developed and conducted through a partnership between RAND and the Center on Reinventing Public Education. Educators from 291 school districts around the country responded to the survey.
"The continued decline in teacher turnover rates and the apparent plateauing of principal turnover rates in 2023–2024 show reason to be cautiously optimistic," the report states. "Turnover rates are continuing to trend back down toward pre-pandemic levels, and the gaps in turnover rates across urban, suburban, and rural districts that emerged during the pandemic have shrunk. Taken together, these patterns suggest that educator turnover is trending downward toward pre-pandemic levels—an encouraging sign."
Key findings:
- Districts estimate that the national teacher turnover rate continued its downward trend from the peak of 10 percent just after the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic to 7 percent as of the 2023–2024 school year. However, this turnover rate remains slightly above the estimated pre-pandemic level of 6 percent.
- The national principal turnover rate also declined from a high of 16 percent right after the pandemic to 8 percent as of the 2023–2024 school year. This latest rate is also higher than the pre-pandemic level.
- The pandemic era gaps in teacher and principal turnover rates observed among urban, suburban, and rural districts have narrowed as of the 2023–2024 school year, according to district reports.
