The Nation - News from Sept. 15, 1985

One in four public elementary and secondary-school teachers believes that he or she is likely to leave the teaching profession in the next five years, including many of the best and brightest teachers, a Louis Harris survey found. The poll of 1,846 teachers, sponsored by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., found that half of them have seriously considered quitting teaching at some time and a quarter are “likely” to leave. The findings come at a time when demographic shifts and teacher attrition point to a severe teacher shortage in the future, with researchers projecting a need for a million new teachers by 1990.