COVID-19 was a wake-up call for many stakeholders in K12 public education. For parents, it was an opportunity to witness firsthand what was being taught in their child’s school through remote learning. For educators—superintendents, too—it was the realization that the job isn’t what it used to be. In fact, it’s much more complex. As a result, school districts are left to pick up the pieces as more families resort to other schooling options for their kids and teachers continue to leave the profession.
Over the past five years, national student-teacher ratios have hovered around 15-16 students for every teacher, according to federal data from the National Center for Education Statistics. However, persistent staffing shortages make it difficult for schools to maintain modest student-teacher ratios, and the issue varies in severity depending on geography.
That’s according to new research from Scholaroo, which breaks down teacher shortages by state. Arizona and Utah, for instance, are considered the states with the worst teacher-student ratios in the country.
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Scholaroo suggests that bad working conditions and low teacher salaries are among the key contributing factors to teacher shortages nationwide.
The report also lists which subject areas are suffering the most as a result of teacher shortages in each state. Here’s a look at that data:
10 states with the worst teacher shortages
Ordered worst-best
Arizona: Subject areas most impacted include English as a second language, language arts, math, science and special education.
Utah: Elementary education is among the most impacted segments.
California: Subject areas most impacted include elementary education, language arts, math, science and special education.
Nevada: Subject areas most impacted include art and music, combined classrooms, computer science, early childhood, elementary education, health/physical fitness, language arts, math, science, special education and support staff.
Florida: Subject areas most impacted include English as a second language, language arts, math, science and special education.
Alaska: Subject areas most impacted include “general shortages” and special education.
Oregon: Subject areas most impacted include English as a second language, “general shortages,” math, science, special education and world languages.
Alabama: Subject areas most impacted include language arts, math, science and special education.
Idaho: Subject areas most impacted include arts and music education, career and technical education, elementary education, health and physical fitness, math, science, special education and support staff.
Louisiana: Subject areas most impacted include English as a second language, math, science, special education and world languages.
See where your state ranks using the interactive map.
