Too much testing, unrealistic expectations among reasons why Georgia teachers burn out, task force finds

Members of Georgia's teacher burnout task force found five main factors that cause teachers to leave the profession. (Photo courtesy Georgia Department of Education)

A state task force on teacher burnout issued a report Thursday detailing five main reasons educators leave the profession. Georgia Schools Superintendent Richard Woods assembled the task force after a 2015 study showed that 44 percent of the state’s teachers leave within five years.

Cherie Goldman, Georgia’s 2022 Teacher of the Year, chaired the teacher burnout task force. The main factors members came up with are: testing, preserving and protecting time, pressures/unrealistic expectations, teacher voice and professional growth, and mental health and wellness.

During the pandemic, state tests weren’t used to grade schools or promote students, but Goldman says students are still being tested a lot.