CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) — Both in Tennessee and across the nation, teachers are leaving the profession after only a few years on the job, making the average teacher more and more inexperienced.
The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports (http://bit.ly/1bbDPc2 ) there are many factors contributing to the change.
Regulations governing who can become a teacher and who can retain a license have tightened, especially in Tennessee. Some teachers are entering the profession as a second career. And a growing number of educators see teaching not as a career but a pit stop. Programs such as Teach for America require only a two-year commitment.
Research shows that beginning teachers grow more effective over the first few years on the job, though it is debated exactly if and when experience stops playing a role in student achievement.