Nearly half of Californiateachersare planning toexit the profession, according to a pair of recently released surveys.
Education Week’s annualThe State of Teachingreport, which was released last week, found nearly half of California teachers surveyed planned to retire or quit in the next 10 years.Nationwide, an estimated 35% of teachers aimed to leave the profession in the next decade, according to the report.
Aseparate surveypublished in January by the California Teachers Association found 40% of teachers were considering leaving education within the next few years, with nearly half of those who planned to quit citingfinancial reasons.
Despite a high percentage of teachers eying the exit door, California rated relatively well on Education Week’s Teacher Morale Index.
The Index measures teachers’ attitudes based on responses to survey questions. Education Week found that California teachers are relatively upbeat about their jobs, with an average morale score of 16, which was 3 points higher than the national average of 13.
Education Week surveyed more than 5,800 teachers across all states from August through November for this year’sThe State of Teachingreport.
The report found that California has some of the largest class sizes in the nation, with an average of about 29 students. The national average is 25, according to the survey.
California teachers said class sizes should be between 20 and 24 students, according to the report.
California teachers have thehighest payin the nation, according to the National Education Association.
The average starting salary in 2025 for a California teacher was $58,409, and the average salary was $101,084, according to the NEA.
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