An Approach to Using Student and Teacher Data to Understand and Predict Teacher Shortages

Addressing teacher shortages has been a persistent concern among leaders in schools, districts, state education agencies, and the federal government. This report describes an approach to identifying patterns of teacher shortages that was collaboratively developed by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Regional Educational Laboratory Central. The approach is implemented using widely available software. It can be adopted or adapted by education agencies that wish to understand and predict teacher shortages, including shortage trends in content and certification areas, in their own contexts. Education agencies may also use teacher shortage predictions to inform efforts to address inequities in students' access to excellent educators.