New report says no teacher shortage despite administrator fears

Metro Atlanta school districts complained about a shortage of teachers at the beginning of the school year, and reduced enrollment in teacher prep courses and declining interest among high school students nationally suggests a shortage on the horizon.

But the actual number of teacher vacancies is relatively low, leading one research group to assert that there is no shortage.

"There is no doubt teacher shortages have plagued the minds of education leaders across the states," says the report from the Education Commission of the States. " Yet teacher turnover has been "fairly stable" over the past decade and and schools have fewer vacancies now than in 2000. "To date, evidence is insufficient to support claims of an increasing teacher shortage on a national level," the group says.