California’s teacher workforce has shifted markedly over the past decade, with the share of new teachers of record entering through student-teaching pathways falling from 63.5% to 39.4%, and the proportion entering on emergency permits rising from 10% to 30%. The percentage of beginning teachers on intern credentials—who are learning to teach while managing their own classrooms as paid teachers of record—has remained between 13 and 17% over the past decade. These pathway shifts coincide with growing diversity among beginning teachers, though Black/African American teachers remain disproportionately likely to enter teaching on emergency permits (52.2%) and to be placed in the highest need schools. Differences in preparation routes are strongly associated with early-career outcomes: preliminary credential holders entering through a student-teaching pathway show the lowest one- and five-year leaving rates (8.5% and 22.3%), while beginning teachers with emergency permits and out-of-state preliminary credentials face substantially higher attrition risks. These disparities compound over time, producing persistent racial gaps in retention, with Black/African American teachers experiencing the highest one-year (18.7%) and five-year (40.3%) leaving rates. Placement patterns further exacerbate these differences, as teachers entering through emergency and intern pathways—particularly Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino teachers—are more likely to begin teaching in schools serving the highest concentrations of high-need students. Despite these challenges, many teachers who start on emergency permits remain in the profession by entering student teaching or intern pathways, with 62% still teaching five years after entry and over one-third progressing to clear credentials. These findings underscore the importance of strengthening student-teaching and intern preparation pathways, developing supported on-ramps into residency, student teaching, or intern programs for emergency permit holders, and implementing targeted strategies to improve retention and diversify the educator workforce. Together, these actions can help stabilize California’s teacher pipeline while promoting equity across preparation routes and school contexts.
Who Stays, Who Leaves: Five-year Retention Patterns by Teacher Entry Pathways
This report follows teachers across their first five years in the profession. It shows how entry pathways, preparation, and school context shape early-career retention and the stability of the teacher workforce.
