Teacher Workforce

Where We Stand on Teacher Workforce

When we invest in our teachers, we invest in the future workforce of Texas. Teachers make the difference. The quality of our education system and the long-term viability of our economy are inextricably linked to the effectiveness and diversity of our teachers. Quality teachers impact students well beyond their academic growth. Teachers are strongly linked to significant increases in high school graduation rates, college completion, and salary earnings. Texas teachers also impact their students’ physical, social, and emotional health. Unfortunately, far too many teachers have left the profession in recent years.

An Investment in Today’s Texas Teachers Pays Dividends

Raise Your Hand Texas supports elevating teaching as a career, treating teachers as professionals, attracting and preparing a strong teacher workforce, and retaining quality educators in the field.

We need to provide teachers with a salary commensurate with their training and the complexity of their work.  We must also treat them like the experts they are by providing opportunities for teachers to be involved in policy decisions at the campus and district levels. Giving teachers a way to lead on their campuses without leaving the classroom for an administrative role or leaving the field of education entirely is one way to ensure our most effective and experienced teachers remain in the classroom with their students.

While we look to retain existing teachers, we must also look to our future teacher workforce. More can be done to attract students to the teaching profession. Scholarship programs can make it easier for students to pursue a teaching career and join a profession where they will impact the lives of hundreds or thousands of Texas students.

Unfortunately, since the Texas Teacher Vacancy Task Force (TVTF) was assembled by state leaders in 2022 and published its recommendations in 2023, the teacher retention crisis has sharply worsened. The experience and training of teacher hires in Texas has dropped as the presence of uncertified teachers amongst new teachers has shot up. More than 33% of recently hired teachers in the 2023-2024 school year were uncertified, almost double the percentage from two years before.⁵

Only 3% of Texans who took the SAT in 2023⁶ cited an interest in teaching, and most parents in Texas do not support the idea of their children becoming teachers.⁷

^[5] Texas Education Agency. (2024). Employed teacher attrition and new hires: 2023-2024.
^[6] College Board. (2023). 2023 total group SAT suite of assessments annual report.
^[7] Charles Butt Foundation. (2022). Connected through our schools.

As Texas grapples with teacher shortages, revitalizing our approach to teacher recruitment has never been more critical. The Texas legislature should support strong incentives that elevate the teaching profession and draw diverse talent into our public schools.

Scholarships for aspiring teachers are one of the best recruitment tools available. They reduce the cost of a college education in exchange for a commitment to serve public school students.

No matter the pathway into the profession, Texas teacher candidates should have extensive clinical field experience before becoming a teacher of record. Data shows that alternative certification programs (ACPs) – many of which only require 30 hours of in-classroom experience – are linked to worse teacher retention rates and lower student achievement.⁸

Teacher development doesn’t end after certification. Texas teachers deserve to be supported throughout their careers with professional development and continued mentorship.

^[8] Reyes, P., Alexander, C., Joshi, M., Solis Rodriquez, J., Rhodes, A., Marder, M., & Marshall, J. (2022). The Tipping Point: Developing and Sustaining the Texas Educator Workforce. The University of Texas at Austin, College of Education.

Making an Impact

For Texas to be a world leader in education and workforce, it must attract talented people into the teaching profession and retain teachers as their skills and experience grow.

Investing in our teacher workforce pays dividends by retaining high-quality teachers, improving student outcomes, and reducing costs for school districts and the state. From the Capitol to the classroom, we must do more for our Texas teachers.

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