Mississippi First Releases Report Finding Teachers Are Eyeing the Exit
Jackson, MS—Today, Mississippi First released our newest report, Eyeing the Exit: Teacher Turnover and What We Can Do About It. This report takes a deeper dive into data first reported in our February 2022 report Voices of the Shortage: 2022 Mississippi Teacher Survey, which revealed that over half of teachers surveyed reported being “somewhat” or “very likely” to leave their Mississippi classroom by November 2022.
This second report provides a nuanced look at which Mississippi teachers are considering exiting the classroom and why. Central to the report is our examination of attrition risk and teachers’ standard of living, which we use to make the case that financial insecurity drives teachers’ desire to exit the classroom. Lastly, we offer recommendations for policymakers to address teacher turnover and strengthen every facet of Mississippi’s educator pipeline.
“The results of the survey are unequivocal: Mississippi teachers have experienced an unacceptable standard of living, and they are prepared to leave the classroom in order to change this reality. This is the clearest evidence yet that Mississippi’s critical teacher shortage is rooted in basic economics,” Toren Ballard, Director of K-12 Policy at Mississippi First and the report’s co-author.
The Economic Realities of Living on a Teacher’s Salary
- Half of Mississippi teachers reported that they struggle to afford basic necessities.
- Student loan debt complicates finances for half of Mississippi teachers.
- Early-career teachers reported the highest levels of financial insecurity.
- Black teachers and their peers of color face a vastly different economic reality from their White colleagues.
- Teachers in lower-rated districts were more likely to struggle financially.
- The choices that teachers make have little impact on their financial well-being.
What Drives Teacher Attrition in Mississippi
Using multiple linear regression—a statistical tool for measuring the relationship between variables—we examined the association between attrition risk (i.e., self-described risk of leaving their teaching position) and factors like years of experience and financial well-being.
- Financial insecurity is one of the most reliable predictors of attrition.
- Teachers with student debt reported being much more likely to leave the classroom.
- Early-career teachers reported unusually high attrition risk, exacerbated by student debt.
- Teachers with advanced degrees reported being more likely to leave the classroom.
- Black teachers and their peers of color reported some of the highest attrition risk of all teachers, likely because of student debt.
- Teachers in lower-rated districts and majority-Black districts reported the greatest attrition risk.
Policy Recommendations
- Incentivize teaching in Mississippi’s highest-need areas with an annual critical shortage stipend of $2,000.
- Reduce teachers’ student debt burden by expanding eligibility and eliminating the cap on awards for the existing Winter-Reed Teacher Loan Repayment Program.
- Increase take-home pay for teachers with families by lowering their state health insurance premiums.
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