In the States: Addressing the Teacher Shortage

Abstract

In Short States have taken different approaches in addressing the need for increased compensation among teachers by spreading pay increases across multiple years, linking increases to performance, and connecting them to sweeping K–12 policy changes, such as school vouchers. The earn-as-you-learn Registered Apprenticeship model is an increasingly popular policy choice, which helps to close equity gaps for students from low-income backgrounds and students of color who want to enter the profession. Some efforts to reduce the teacher shortage, such as easing requirements to be a teacher, remain controversial and potentially counterproductive when considering education quality.