This new analysis from the National Commission on Teaching and America?’s Future (NCTAF) suggests the teacher shortage is driven not by too few teachers coming in, but by too many leaving the profession. Almost a third of America?’s teachers leave the field sometime during their first three years of teaching, and almost half leave after five years. Attrition rates are highest in the areas of special education, mathematics and science, and in low-income schools.
NCTAF?’s three-point strategy for keeping good teachers includes downsizing and reorganizing schools to support strong learning communities, ensuring that teacher preparation meets school's requirements and students' learning needs, and developing and sustaining professionally rewarding career paths for beginning and seasoned teachers.
http://www.nctaf.org/whatsnew/index.html