By Amy Been Bennett, MTEP 2.0 Research Hub member
As the recent Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences Executive Summary on the State of Retention and Recruitment of Middle and Secondary Mathematics Teachers in the US [PDF] reports, the mathematics teacher shortage exists and is widespread across the US. Our most recent data from the MTEP 2.0 Program Completers Survey mirrors the national situation and extends the trend of MTEP data from the past several years. (See Figure 1 [.jpg]).
The distribution of program completers for 2024 looks similar to last year and illustrates the stark reality that most mathematics teacher preparation programs within the MTEP 2.0 network have graduating classes in the single digits. (See Figure 2 [.jpg]). Nonetheless, a few programs graduated at least 20 students, and one-third of the programs ushered 10-16 students to graduation day. In 2024, the median number of program completers was 8 students and the average was about 9.8.
These numbers can be sobering or galvanizing to our MTEP efforts. As the CBMS summary emphasizes, "partnerships hold promise and need to be encouraged" to address the mathematics teacher shortage. As we persevere in this work, we are encouraged by MTEP NICs that continue to forge new partnerships with institutions and K-12 school districts, as well as NICs that advocate for their programs and students amid tumultuous political changes and academic trials. While persisting in this critical work, we understand that the numbers do not tell the complete story.
We encourage NICs to continue collecting and submitting program data so that we can leverage our "uniform data reporting protocols" (CBMS, 2024) and synergize our efforts to meet the urgent national need for more beginning secondary mathematics teachers, particularly those who reflect the US student population. Through our partnerships within and across MTEP 2.0 NICs, we can address the challenges of recruitment and retention within high-quality mathematics teacher preparation programs.
(Note: The N for 2024 is 27 but varies from year to year due to challenges in getting timely responses from the MTEP 2.0 NICs. Thus, cross-year comparisons are not completely accurate.)