Teacher attrition rate from secondary education, both sexes (%)

Percentage of teachers at a given level of education leaving the profession in a given school year. The number of leavers is estimated by subtracting the number of teachers in year t from those in year t-1 and adding the number of new entrants to the teaching workforce in year t. The attrition rate is the number of leavers expressed as a percentage of the total number of teachers in year t-1. A high value indicates high levels of teacher turnover which can be disruptive for the learning of students. Assessing and monitoring teacher attrition is essential to ensuring a sufficient supply of qualified and well-trained teachers as well as to their effective deployment, support and management. Where teachers teach for 30-40 years, the attrition rate will be well below 5%. Attrition rates above 10% indicate that the average teaching career lasts only 10 years.