Science, Math Teachers No More Apt To Abandon Jobs Than Other Teachers

WASHINGTON--Science and mathematics teachers, often portrayed as especially prone to abandon the classroom for more lucrative job opportunities, are no more likely to leave the profession than are teachers of other subjects, according to a survey by the National Center for Education Statistics.

While the overall attrition rate for public-school teachers between 1987-88 and 1988-89 was 5.6 percent, the attrition rate was 4.9 percent for mathematics teachers and 5.4 percent for science teachers, states the report, "Characteristics of Stayers, Movers, and Leavers: Results from the Teacher Followup Survey, 1988-89," released this summer.

A follow-up to the statistics center's Schools and Staffing Survey, the report is based on...