Study Reveals Michigan’s Disadvantaged Black, Latino, and Rural Students Face Shortage of Qualified Teachers
A report indicates that students in low-income districts are disproportionately taught by instructors with temporary or emergency credentials.
When a certified teacher is not available to instruct a class, schools are obliged to hire a long-term substitute with temporary or emergency credentials.
The reliance on long-term substitutes and out-of-field educators often leads to a scarcity of qualified teachers, which negatively impacts the educational offerings and overall quality of education provided to disadvantaged students.
Currently, just under 3 percent of all employed teachers in Michigan are substitutes working under emergency or temporary credentials. This number drops to less than 1 percent in suburban, low-poverty areas, while it rises to 8 percent in poor urban and rural districts.
Economic and Racial Disparities
ETM’s findings reveal that in districts where most students are Black, these students are nearly four times more likely to encounter an out-of-field teacher, four times more likely to be taught by someone with emergency credentials, and twice as likely to have a beginning teacher compared to students in predominantly white districts.
In the 2022-23 academic year, over 16 percent of teachers in high-poverty districts were instructing subjects outside of their certification or endorsement area, which is double the state average.
As part of their research, Michigan officials categorized the state’s public school districts into six cohorts based on the degree of poverty prevalent in those areas.
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Although the poorest districts employ only 13.5 percent of all teachers in Michigan, they account for 38 percent of all teachers utilizing emergency credentials.
The data “highlight the impact of district poverty on teacher quality” and illustrate that financially disadvantaged and minority students “systematically lack access to adequately prepared and effective educators,” according to the study.
Out of Their Field
Throughout the 2023-24 academic year, 8 percent of educators statewide were teaching subjects outside of their area of qualification. Students in the lowest-income cohort were several times more likely to encounter teachers instructing outside their field compared to those in the affluent cohort.
For the 2023-24 school year, 13 percent of teachers in urban districts, 8 percent in rural districts, and 6 percent in suburban districts were teaching subjects not aligned with their qualifications.
Inexperience
Students from districts with elevated poverty levels are nearly three times more likely to be taught by a novice teacher (defined as having less than three years of experience) than those from wealthier areas.
In districts with the highest poverty levels, one-third of teachers are in their first year, while only a quarter possess more than a decade of experience.
Linda McMahon, President Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of education, meets with Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) in his office in Washington on Dec. 9, 2024. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
In contrast, the wealthiest cohort of districts reports only 16 percent of their coaching staff as first-year teachers, and nearly half of their faculty has more than 10 years of experience.
“Students residing in the highest poverty concentrations in Michigan—both rural and urban—frequently lack access to a sufficient number of educators with the skills and experience that are critical to their academic success,” stated the ETM report.
High Turnover
ETM’s research revealed that, on a national level, schools in high-poverty districts experience a 20 percent annual turnover rate among their teaching staff.
The high turnover, attributed to retirements and shifts of personnel within or outside the district, “can hinder student educational outcomes by increasing the chance that their teacher is inexperienced or unqualified,” according to the ETM report.
Furthermore, increases in classroom misbehavior may be associated with “students’ failure to establish essential relationships with transient teachers.”
ETM researchers cautioned that simply having an adult present in the classroom “does not ensure that the person is qualified to educate.”
Higher Pay
Providing competitive salaries for prospective teachers is a critical aspect of adequately staffing schools in high-poverty areas, as per the ETM study.
The study reveals that Michigan educators earn approximately 21 percent less than other graduates with similar educational backgrounds and experience levels.
First-year teachers earned around $39,000 annually in the 2021-22 school year, placing Michigan 39th in the nation for teacher salaries.
During that same period, the average salary for a teacher in Michigan was $64,000.
This survival budget represents an estimate of expenses for food, housing, child care, transportation, health care, technology, and taxes over the course of a year.
To meet the $69,348 survival budget, a newly hired teacher in Grand Rapids with a bachelor’s degree and a family of four would need to work in the district for 16 years.
A National Shortage
ETM’s analysis determined that during the 2022-23 school year, 31 states reported a deficiency of mathematics teachers, 34 states struggled to recruit sufficient science teachers, and 39 states faced a shortage of special education educators.
As of now, the Michigan Department of Education and the State Board of Education have not responded to requests for comments.
