True or False: Available Math Teachers < Need?

A couple of weeks ago Education Week covered a report from two University of Pennsylvania researchers who claim we've got plenty of math and science teachers in our country. In fact, the amount of new math and science teachers that we produce is twice as many as the number of retiring math and science teachers. So why are we scrambling for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) instructors? Because we can't hold on to the ones that we have.

This is an important report to consider for those who argue that the pipeline into STEM education needs expanding. It's not the flow of teachers into the system, it's the leaks going out, later down the line. One of the researchers, Richard M. Ingersoll, suggests that we can plug some of these leaks by improving working conditions. He cites "supporting new teachers…offering better pay schedules, getting a handle on student-discipline problems, or showing more effective leadership."

Public Agenda has conducted several research projects over the past few years that support Ingersoll's hypothesis. Recently our report, Lessons Learned, revealed that more than half of all first-year teachers who are leaving the profession say that a "significantly higher salary" would change their minds. Thirty percent say that more supportive principals would do so. A quarter of teachers leaving would like to see reduced class size, and about 20 percent see more professional development.

Significantly, however, the Lessons Learned study found that, if given the choice between a school where they got more support from the administration and a school where they would make more money, strong majorities of teachers would pick the school with better support. Lessons Learned also reports that among the drawbacks that may chase teachers out of the field are too much testing, too many kids with discipline problems and behavior issues and too many unmotivated teachers.

Meanwhile, the New York Times reports an uptick in the number of Computer Science majors. A field of study that took something of a hit after the dotcom bust, according to the Times, but now it's picking up again. What's more, four of the top ten fastest growing careers require a bachelor's in a computer-related field, as seen here. Training in these careers benefits enormously from a strong math background. With figures like these, it is apparent that our STEM teachers are more important than ever. One could make the argument that any dollars invested in the retention of STEM teachers will pay huge dividends by preparing the next generation of computer workers down the road.

So as the new administration ramps up its education efforts, the report disputing a teacher shortage offers some interesting food for thought. What would be the best use of education dollars? Should we offer more money to retain math and science teachers, as Lessons Learned suggests?

Should we focus on student discipline, making the working conditions more professional and less stressful? Does it make more sense to pump money into colleges that are already training twice as many teachers than are retiring or should we look to developing and implementing greater professional development? What would the fallout be if we started paying more to retain STEM teachers?