Oregon Schools Falling Behind as Teacher Shortage Reaches Crisis Levels
A recent study revealed that Oregon has the tenth-most severe teacher shortage relative to the number of schools in the U.S., with an average of 24.0 teachers per school —compared with the national average of 31.1 teachers per school.
Using data from the National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data on public school staffing for the 2023-2024 school year across U.S. states, the e-learning platform, eLearning Industry, analyzed teacher numbers to identify the states where schools face the most significant staffing challenges.
Oregon, scoring 22.8% below the national average, ranked as the tenth lowest, with an average of 24.0 teachers per school across the 1,296 public schools served by 31,083 teachers, suggesting that the state’s schools are facing critical teacher shortages.
The bottom ten states with the lowest teacher-to-school ratios are:
| RANK | STATE | AVERAGE NUMBER OF TEACHERS PER SCHOOL |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montana | 13.2 |
| 2 | South Dakota | 14.5 |
| 3 | Alaska | 14.6 |
| 4 | North Dakota | 19.0 |
| 5 | Arizona | 20.3 |
| 6 | Wyoming | 20.8 |
| 7 | Nebraska | 21.9 |
| 8 | Minnesota | 22.0 |
| 9 | Idaho | 22.4 |
| 10 | Oregon | 24.0 |
| National Average | 31.1 |
A spokesperson at eLearning Industry indicated that States with lower teacher-to-school ratios face difficulties in providing adequate instructional support and specialized services.
The spokesperson said, “Where schools are identified as being the most understaffed, the research findings can inform policy discussions about teacher recruitment, retention strategies, and educational funding to help ensure all students have access to sufficient teaching resources.”