Over at the Houston Chronicle, yours truly has a new commentary on the challenges of teacher retention both across the United States and specifically in Texas and what the Lone Star State can do to improve the teacher pipeline.

As I write:

When it comes to many of the major factors driving teacher shortages, Texas is no different than most states. The politics surrounding teaching and the demands on teachers aren’t too different in Texas than they are in other states, particularly since Texas isn’t part of the day-to-day, vitriolic churn of Common Core. Yet retention problems seem far more significant than in other states.

One reason is teacher preparation. Texas currently has a higher percentage of inexperienced teachers than other states. And with high turnover rates, that percentage of new teachers continues to climb. In its zeal to address teacher shortages, the state has opened its doors to a range of low-quality, new, and alternative teacher preparation efforts, resulting in vast discrepancies as to the rigor of teacher prep here.

I also highlight three things that Texas can do to boost teacher education and teacher retention, including creating a clear set of performance measures for pre-service teachers, better root teacher education in clinical practice, and invest in strong mentoring for new teachers.

Give it a read. I promise it’ll be worth your time. You can find it here.