The Learning Policy Institute recently released The State of the Teacher Workforce, a state-by-state examination of factors impacting teacher supply and demand and student access to qualified educators. Using a broad set of indicators derived from a variety of data sources, each state was assigned a rating in two key areas: teaching attractiveness and teacher equity. Ohio does reasonably well on both scores but still has plenty of room for improvement.
The teaching attractiveness rating indicates how supportive states are of teacher recruitment and retention. It measures five indicators: compensation, working conditions, school resources, teacher turnover and hiring, and qualifications. Ohio’s 3.3 out of 5 rating places it higher than neighboring Michigan and Indiana (both earned 2.4), on par with Pennsylvania (3.3), and lower than West Virginia (3.5) and Kentucky (3.6). The equity rating, meanwhile, indicates the extent to which students have equitable access to well-qualified teachers. Ohio’s rating of 3.9 is better than nearly all of its neighboring states—Michigan (2.4), Indiana (3.1), Kentucky (3.5), and Pennsylvania (2)—but lower than West Virginia (4.1).
These overall ratings shed some light on how Ohio’s teacher workforce stacks up against other states. But drilling down into individual indicators can give state and local leaders more detailed information about what’s working and what’s not, especially with teacher recruitment and retention. With that in mind, here are four Ohio-specific takeaways.
1. Teacher compensation continues to be a sore spot.
The average starting teacher salary in Ohio, adjusted for cost-of-living differences, is $43,800, slightly lower than the national average of $44,530. Ohio also pays less than most of its neighboring states. Pennsylvania, for example, offers a starting salary of $51,010, and Indiana pays $46,540. For newly minted teachers who are struggling with student loan debt and other rising costs, these are sizable gaps that could make them question whether the Buckeye State is the right place to call home.
When it comes to wage competitiveness, Ohio fares slightly better. Wage competitiveness refers to the average public school teacher’s weekly wage as a percentage of the estimated weekly wage for other college educated workers within the state. At 85.6 percent, Ohio scores better than all five of its neighbors and the vast majority of other states. But even with a good ranking, Ohio teachers still appear to fall victim to the so-called teacher pay penalty, or the gap in weekly wages between teachers and college graduates in other professions. There are important nuances to recognize. Teachers often receive better benefits packages than those in other professions, and they have more time off. But prospective teachers might not be aware of these differences. And in Ohio, at least, teacher retirement is a bit of a mess.
To address these issues, Ohio policymakers need to follow a multi-pronged approach. Raising salaries for early career teachers is a good place to start (and lawmakers have already shown they’re amenable to doing so). They should consider investing in initiatives that minimize student loan debt, pay teachers more flexibly, and pay them more for teaching in high-need schools and subjects. They also need to tackle teacher retirement. None of these solutions are a silver bullet on their own. But together, they could make a difference.
2. Ohio seems to be doing better with teacher turnover and hiring than many other states.
Anecdotes of troubling turnover (too many teachers are leaving the profession) and difficulty hiring staff (there aren’t enough teachers to go around) have shaped the teacher shortage narrative. The data included in this analysis back up some of those assessments, but also indicate that Ohio is doing better than many other states. Consider the following:
- Only 5 percent of Ohio teachers left the profession between 2020–21 and 2021–22, compared to nearly 8 percent nationally. Of Ohio’s five neighboring states, only Pennsylvania did better (3.8 percent).
- Slightly less than 5 percent of Ohio teachers plan to leave teaching as soon as they can or when a more desirable job opportunity comes along. Nationally, that number is more than 8 percent.
- Almost 39 percent of Ohio schools with teaching vacancies reported finding it very difficult to fill them or not being able to fill them. Meanwhile, nearly 47 percent of schools nationwide reported the same.
Going forward, Ohio leaders must take the initiative to ensure they have access to detailed annual data on teacher vacancies, supply, and demand. Otherwise, it will be difficult to effectively address shortages.
3. Working conditions are an area of concern.
Research indicates that working conditions have a strong influence over teachers’ employment decisions. Moreover, the working conditions teachers prize most are social in nature. School leadership and relationships with colleagues matter immensely. And according to this analysis, those are two areas where Ohio performs the worst. Only 43 percent of Ohio teachers strongly agree that their school administration’s behavior toward staff is supportive and encouraging, compared to more than 51 percent nationally. Meanwhile, only 34 percent of Ohio teachers strongly agree that there is a “great deal of cooperative effort” among staff. If Ohio is going to get better at retaining teachers, district and school leaders need to step up and do more to improve culture and let teachers teach.
4. Teachers want more say in how schools are run.
Roughly 28 percent of Ohio teachers reported that teachers have “no influence” over school policy in the areas of student performance standards, curriculum, in-service professional development, teacher evaluation, teacher hiring, and discipline. It’s worrisome that nearly a third of teachers believe they have no influence over these issues, as that kind of frustration can drive teachers out of the classroom. But it’s also worth noting that this is another area where lackluster local leadership comes into play. In-service professional development, teacher hiring, and discipline typically fall under the purview of district and school administrators. And thanks to recently passed legislation allowing districts to develop and use their own frameworks for teacher evaluation, that falls into the hands of local leaders, too.
There are things state leaders can do. The Department of Education and Workforce (DEW), for example, could follow the lead of Louisiana and establish a workgroup of teachers to offer feedback about policies and initiatives. But for many teachers, more of a say in local policymaking seems to be what they want—and only district and school administrators can make that happen.
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Bolstering the teacher workforce should be a top priority for Ohio. The data in this analysis prove that, contrary to common media narratives, it’s not all doom and gloom. But there is a lot of work to do, especially at the local level, and now is as good a time as any to start.
