May 2008

Staffing the nation’s schools with well-qualified teachers has long 

been a prominent issue in elementary and secondary education 

(Wayne and Youngs 2003). Mathematics and science teachers are 

of particular interest because mathematics and science are core 

subjects in both elementary and secondary public schools. These 

subjects continue to attract attention as the need for individuals 

entering the workforce with advanced knowledge in these areas 

remains high (National Science Board 2006). Maintaining a 

sufficient supply of mathematics and science teachers depends 

on both entry rates into these teaching fields and attrition from 

these fields. This Issue Brief reports on trends in the attrition 

of public school mathematics and science teachers over a 16-

year period and examines the reasons given by mathematics 

and science teachers for leaving teaching employment. Previous 

research has shown that the distribution of teachers who left 

teaching employment varies by teacher characteristics (e.g., age) 

(Marvel et al. 2007). Therefore, findings are shown by this and 

other teacher characteristics.

The Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), administered by the 

National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), collects 

information on public and private elementary and secondary 

schools, as well as the teachers and administrators who staff 

them. A key component of SASS is the Teacher Follow-up 

Survey (TFS), which is a follow-up of a representative sample of 

the public and private elementary and secondary school teachers 

who participated in the previous year’s SASS. According to 

Marvel et al. (2007), 84 percent of public school teachers were 

still teaching at the same school in the 2004–05 school year as 

in the 2003–04 school year, but the remaining 16 percent had 

either moved to a different school (8 percent) or left teaching 

employment altogether (8 percent). The current analysis focuses 

on the latter group—public school teachers who left teaching 

employment between the 2003–04 and 2004–05 school years.1,2

Moreover, since the TFS has been conducted periodically since 

1988–89, the analysis is also able to examine trends in teacher 

attrition between the 1988–89 and 2004–05 school years. 

In this Issue Brief, public school teachers who reported a main 

teaching assignment of mathematics or science are referred to 

as “mathematics and science teachers.”3 Those public school 

teachers who reported a main teaching assignment in a field other 

than mathematics or science are referred to as “other teachers.”4

Teachers who had left teaching employment between the time of 

the base-year survey (i.e., SASS) and the follow-up survey (i.e., 

TFS) are referred to as “leavers.”

Trends in Mathematics and Science Leavers

Overall, the rate of public school mathematics and science 

teachers and other teachers leaving teaching employment showed 

Attrition of Public School Mathematics and 

Science Teachers

U.S. Department of Education

NCES 2008–077

Issue

Brief

no consistent trend from 1988–89 through 2004–05 (table 1). 

Of mathematics and science leavers, there was no measurable 

change in the percentage of mathematics and science teachers 

leaving teaching employment between 1988–89 and 2004–05. 

For example, of the mathematics and science teachers who were 

teaching during the 1987–88 school year, 5 percent had left 

the teaching profession by the following school year. Of those 

who were teaching in the 2003–04 school year, 6 percent had 

left by the following school year. In contrast, the leaving rate 

for other public school teachers increased 3 percentage points 

between 1988–89 and 2004–05 (6 vs. 9 percent, respectively). 

Furthermore, the percentage of other teachers leaving teaching 

employment increased from 7 percent in 2000–01 to 9 percent 

in 2004–05.

Characteristics of Mathematics and Science 

Leavers

Between the 2003–04 and 2004–05 school years, a greater 

percentage of mathematics and science teachers who had always 

taught part-time5 left teaching employment than did those with 

1 to 5 years and 6 years or more of full-time teaching experience 

(81 vs. 7 and 6 percent, respectively) (table 2). Differences 

were also found by age and base salary. For example, a greater 

percentage of mathematics and science teachers 50 years or 

older left the teaching profession than did those 35 to 49 years 

old and those less than 35 years old (11 vs. 3 and 6 percent, 

respectively). In addition, a greater percentage of mathematics 

and science teachers with a base salary of less than $30,000 left 

teaching employment than those earning $30,000 to $39,999 

(11 vs. 5 percent).6,7,8

Differences were also found between mathematics and science 

leavers and other leavers. Overall, a smaller percentage of 

mathematics and science teachers than other teachers left teaching 

employment between the 2003–04 and 2004–05 school years (6 

vs. 9 percent).9 Among those teachers with no full-time teaching 

experience, a greater percentage of mathematics and science 

teachers than other teachers left teaching employment (81 vs. 15 

percent). In contrast, of leavers with 6 years or more of full-time 

teaching experience, a smaller percentage of mathematics and 

science teachers than other teachers left teaching employment 

(6 vs. 8 percent).

Differences between mathematics and science leavers and 

other leavers were also found by teachers’ base salary, sex, 

and certification type. Of leavers earning $30,000 or more, a 

smaller percentage of mathematics and science teachers than 

other teachers left the profession. A smaller percentage of female 

mathematics and science teachers than other female teachers left 

teaching employment (6 vs. 9 percent). Of those teachers with 
2 NCES 2008-077 Issue Brief May 2008

a regular state certification, mathematics 

and science teachers were also less likely 

than other teachers to leave teaching 

employment (6 vs. 9 percent).

Reasons for Leaving Teaching

Teachers who left teaching employment 

were asked to rate selected reasons (listed in 

table 3)—on a scale from “not important” 

to “extremely important”—behind their 

decision to leave teaching employment 

between the 2003–04 and 2004–05 

school years.10 In the year following 

their departure from teaching, greater 

percentages of mathematics and science 

leavers rated retirement (34 percent) than 

five other reasons listed in table 3 as very 

important or extremely important in their 

decision to leave. These five other reasons 

were dissatisfaction with previous school 

or teaching assignment (21 percent), 

dissatisfaction with teaching as a career 

(18 percent), a school staffing action (14 

percent), taking courses to improve career 

opportunities within the field of education 

(9 percent), and taking courses to improve 

career opportunities outside the field 

of education (9 percent). Furthermore, 

higher percentages of mathematics and 

science teachers reported better salary and 

benefits (25 percent) and the pursuit of a 

position other than K–12 educator (23 

percent) as very important or extremely 

important in their decision to leave, 

compared to a school staffing action (14 

percent), taking courses to improve career 

opportunities within the field of education 

(9 percent), or taking courses to improve 

career opportunites outside the field of 

education (9 percent).

With one exception, no measurable 

differences were found between mathematics and science leavers and other leavers 

in the percentages rating the selected reasons 

for leaving as very important or extremely 

important. The one exception was that a 

greater percentage of mathematics and 

science leavers than other leavers rated 

better salary or benefits as very important or 

extremely important (25 vs. 13 percent).

Summary

The percentage of public school mathematics 

and science teachers who left teaching 

employment did not change measurably 

between 1988–89 and 2004–05. However, 

the percentage of other public school 

teachers who left teaching employment did 

increase over the same period. Differences 

were found among mathematics and science 

Table 1. Trends in the percentage of public school mathematics and science leavers and all 

other leavers: Selected years, 1988–89 through 2004–05

Teaching assignment 1988–89 1991–92 1994–95 2000–01 2004–05

Mathematics and science teachers 5.1 4.5 6.2 8.2 6.4

Other teachers 5.6 5.2 6.6 7.3 8.7

NOTE: Teachers who reported a main teaching assignment of mathematics or science are referred to as “mathematics 

and science teachers.” Those teachers who reported a main teaching assignment in a field other than mathematics or 

science are referred to as “other” teachers. Teachers who had left the profession between the time of the base-year 

survey (i.e., Schools and Staffing Survey) and the follow-up survey (i.e., Teacher Follow-up Survey) are referred to as 

“leavers.” Standard errors can be found at http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2008077.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Teacher Follow-up Survey (TFS), “Current 

and Former Data Files,” 2004–05.

Table 2. Percentage distribution of public school teachers and the percentage of public 

school leavers between school years 2003–04 and 2004–05, by main assignment 

field and selected teacher characteristics: 2004–05

Teacher characteristic 

in base year1

All teachers Leavers

Total

Mathematics 

and 

science 

teachers

Other 

teachers Total

Mathematics 

and 

science 

teachers

Other 

teachers

Total 100.0 100.0! 100.0 8.4! 6.4! 8.7!

Full-time teaching experience2

No full-time teaching 

experience

0.9 0.4! 1.0 19.6! 80.5! 15.3!

1–5 years 28.3 31.3! 27.8 9.2! 6.5! 9.7!

6 years or more 70.8 68.3! 71.2 7.9! 5.9! 8.2!

Age

Less than 35 years 32.0 33.1! 31.9 8.7! 6.2! 9.1!

35–49 years 36.6 39.5! 36.1 5.2! 3.3! 5.5!

50 years or older 31.4 27.4! 32.0 11.8! 11.0! 11.9!

Base salary

Less than $30,000 12.1 12.8! 12.0 10.6! 11.2! 10.5!

$30,000–$39,999 34.8 37.2! 34.4 7.2! 4.9! 7.6!

$40,000 or more 53.1 50.0! 53.6 8.7! 6.3! 9.0!

Sex

Male 24.4 39.2! 22.0 7.7! 6.7! 8.0!

Female 75.6 60.8! 78.0 8.6! 6.2! 8.9!

Teaching status

Full-time 91.0 95.3! 90.3 7.5! 6.2! 7.8!

Part-time 9.0 4.7! 9.7 16.9! 10.8! 17.4!

Certification type3

Regular state certification 87.6 89.1! 91.5 8.2! 5.9! 8.6!

Other certification 7.3 9.2! 7.0 8.5! 9.0! 8.4!

None of the above 1.5 1.7! 1.5 17.7! 20.8! 17.2!

School level taught

Elementary 64.4 39.6! 68.4 8.5! 6.1! 8.7!

Secondary 30.4 53.3! 26.7 8.6! 7.0! 9.1!

Combined 5.2 7.1! 4.9 6.3! 3.4! 7.0!

! Interpret data with caution. Standard error is more than one-third as large as the estimate.

1

Base year refers to 2003–04.

2

Teachers with no full-time teaching experience are those teachers who have always worked part-time. They reported 

being less than full-time and reported having no prior full-time teaching experience in either a private or public school. 

Of math and science teachers this represents less than 0.5 percent and for all other teachers it represents approximately 

1.0 percent. The actual estimated count for all teachers is 28,100 as reported in table 3 of Marvel et al. (2007). It should 

be noted that those teachers who were in their first year of full-time teaching in 2003–04 are included in the “1 to 5 years” 

category.

3

“Regular state certification” includes regular or standard state certificates, advanced professional certificates, and 

probationary certificates (issued after satisfying all requirements except the completion of a probationary period). “Other 

certification” includes provisional or temporary certificate and waiver or emergency certificate.

NOTE: Teachers who reported a main teaching assignment of mathematics or science are referred to as “mathematics 

and science teachers.” Those teachers who reported a main teaching assignment in a field other than mathematics 

or science are referred to as “other” teachers. Teachers who had left the profession between the time of the baseyear survey (i.e., Schools and Staffing Survey) and the follow-up survey (i.e., Teacher Follow-up Survey) are referred to 

as “leavers.” Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. Standard errors can be found at http://nces.ed.gov/

pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2008077.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Teacher Follow-up Survey (TFS), “Current 

and Former Data Files,” 2004–05.
NCES 2008-077 Issue Brief May 2008 3

The Issue Brief series presents information on education topics of current interest. All estimates shown are based on samples and are subject to sampling variability. 

All differences discussed are statistically significant at the .05 level as measured by two-tailed t tests; this means a difference is discussed only if the probability 

that it is due to chance (i.e., sampling variability) is less than 1 in 20. In addition to t tests, linear regression was used to test trends over time. No adjustments were 

made for multiple comparisons. In the design, conduct, and data processing of National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) surveys, efforts are made to 

minimize the effects of nonsampling errors, such as item nonresponse, measurement error, data processing error, or other systematic error. For more information 

on the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), visit http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/sass. 

This Issue Brief was prepared by Gillian Hampden-Thompson (American Institutes for Research), William L. Herring (MacroSys Research & Technology), and Gregory 

Kienzl (American Institutes for Research) of the Education Statistics Services Institute (ESSI). This Issue Brief was formatted by Michael Stock (MacroSys Research 

and Technology) and edited by Martin Hahn (American Institutes for Research) of ESSI. For further information, contact Lisa Hudson, NCES, at 202-502-7358 or 

lisa.hudson@ed.gov. To order additional copies of this Issue Brief or other NCES publications, call 1-877-4ED-PUBS or visit http://www.edpubs.org. NCES publications 

are also available on the Internet at http://nces.ed.gov. 

leavers by various teacher characteristics. 

For example, between the 2003–04 and 

2004–05 school years, a greater percentage 

of mathematics and science teachers with no 

full-time teaching experience left teaching 

employment than those with 1 to 5 years 

and 6 years or more of full-time teaching 

experience. Differences were also found 

between mathematics and science leavers and 

other leavers. For example, of those teachers 

with a regular or standard certification, 

a smaller percentage of mathematics and 

science teachers than other teachers left 

teaching employment. Finally, when asked 

to rate various reasons for leaving the 

teaching profession, greater percentages of 

mathematics and science leavers than other 

leavers rated better salary or benefits as very 

important or extremely important.

References

Marvel, J., Lyter, D.M., Peltola, P., Strizek, 

G.A., and Morton, B.A. (2007). 

Teacher Attrition and Mobility: 

Results From the 2004–05 Teacher Follow-up Survey 

(NCES 2007-307). National Center for Education Statistics, 

Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of 

Education. Washington, DC.

National Science Board (2006). Science and Engineering 

Indicators 2006 (NSB 06-01). Arlington, VA: National 

Science Foundation.

Wayne, A.J., and Youngs, P. (2003). Teacher Characteristics 

and Student Achievement Gains: A Review. Review of 

Educational Research, 73(1): 89–122.

Endnotes

1

See Marvel et al. (2007) for data on teachers who moved to a different 

school between 2003–04 and 2004–05.

2

The small sample size for the private school teachers precludes in-depth 

analysis of this category of teachers.

3

“Science” refers only to the natural sciences, which include biology/life 

sciences, chemistry, Earth sciences, engineering, physics, and other natural 

sciences.

4

Main teaching assignments other than mathematics and science include 

early childhood/general elementary, special education, arts/music, English/

language arts, social sciences, and all others, including computer science, 

English as a second language, foreign languages, health education, 

vocational/technical education, and other miscellaneous subjects.

5

Teachers with no full-time teaching experience are those teachers who 

are less than full-time and reported having no prior full-time teaching 

experience in either a private or public school. Of mathematics and science 

teachers this represents less than 0.5 percent and for all other teachers it 

represents approximately 1.0 percent. The actual estimated count for all 

teachers is 28,100 as reported in table 3 of Marvel et al. (2007). It should 

be noted that those teachers who were in their first year of full-time teaching 

in 2003–04 are included in the “1 to 5 years” category.

6

It is important to note that many of the teacher characteristics used for 

independent analysis may also be related to each other. However, this Issue 

Brief focuses on the bivariate relationships, rather than more complex 

analyses, to provide descriptive information on the characteristics of 

mathematics and science leavers in public schools.

7

Because all of the teachers in the 2004–05 TFS sample had been respondents 

to the 2003–04 SASS, some questions (e.g., on age, sex) were not repeated 

in the TFS questionnaire. For this reason, some of the data on teacher 

characteristics presented in this Issue Brief are drawn from the 2003–04 

SASS. These SASS data are termed “base-year” data because the SASS 

responding teachers form the base for the teachers who are selected.

8

Among mathematics and science teachers who left teaching employment, 

no measurable difference was found between those with a base salary of 

less than $30,000 and those earning $40,000 or more.

9

No measurable differences were found between mathematics and science 

leavers and other leavers for the previous years.

10Respondents were also asked to rate the importance of other reasons 

in their decision to leave teaching employment that are not listed in table 

3. These selected reasons were changed residence, health, pregnancy or 

child rearing, and other family or personal reasons. The estimates for all 

public school teachers for these four reasons can be found in table 6 in 

Marvel et al. (2007).

Table 3. Percentage of public school teachers who rated various selected reasons as very 

important or extremely important in their decision to leave K–12 teaching, by main 

assignment field: 2004–05

Reason for leaving

Main teaching assignment

All 

teachers

Mathematics 

and science 

teachers

Other 

teachers

Retirement 31.4 34.1 31.0

School staffing action1 14.6 14.2 14.7

Better salary or benefits 14.2 25.3 12.8

To pursue a position other than that of a K–12 teacher 25.3 23.4 25.5

To take courses to improve career opportunities within 

the field of education 8.9 9.3 8.8

To take courses to improve career opportunities outside 

the field of education 5.3 8.8 4.8

Dissatisfied with teaching as a career 14.6 18.4 14.1

Dissatisfied with previous school or teaching assignment 16.0 20.8 15.4

1

For example, reduction-in-force, lay-off, school closing, school reorganization, or reassignment.

NOTE: Respondents were also asked to rate the importance of other reasons in their decision to leave teaching 

employment that are not listed here. These selected reasons were changed residence, health, pregnancy or child 

rearing, and other family or personal reasons. Standard errors can be found at http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.

asp?pubid=2008077.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Teacher Follow-up Survey (TFS), “Current 

and Former Data Files,” 2004–05.
Attrition of Public School Mathematics and Science Teachers 

U.S. Department of Education

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NCES 2008–077

The Issue Brief series presents information on education topics of current interest.

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Brief