Here's some new evidence that not as many new teachers are leaving the profession as it's popular to assert. 2007-2008 data from the Schools and Staffing Survey report the following: Of public school teachers across the country with 1 to 3 years of experience, 77 percent stick around at their original schools, 13.7 percent change schools, and 9.1 percent leave teaching. That's a far cry from the claims that the number of new teachers leaving after a couple of years is as high as 50 percent. And,we can probably chalk up the large percentage of movers to the fact that teachers tend to move schools looking for the best "fit".

What the new stats don't tell us, though, is what the rate of departure from teaching is for the more challenging districts. That, we suspect,would paint a much less rosy picture.