Assessing Teacher Supply and Demand

This report describes and justifies a data-collection system for assessing teacher supply and demand in United States elementary and secondary schools. The resulting data-collection effort consists of linked surveys of school districts, schools, principals, and teachers designed to support analyses of teacher supply and demand using dimensions such as qualifications, assignments, and working conditions; and school conditions, policies, and staffing practices. The main objectives of the study are to lay the groundwork for prescribing data requirements and data-collection procedures for the Schools and Staffing Surveys database administered by the Center for Education Statistics. The purpose is to gather information that will enable educators and researchers to assess the current status of teachers on numerous dimensions, and to provide data that will support analyses of flows into, out of, and within the teacher workforce. (JD)