A newly released report from the U.S. Department of Education's statistical wing, the Institution for Education Sciences, found that over five years, 17 percent of teachers left the profession. IES then used the data to draw conclusions on why some stay and some leave.

Just looking at the numbers, the study "found that after five years of teaching, roughly 70 percent of the original cohort remained in their original schools, 10 percent had moved schools, three percent had returned to teaching, and only 17 percent had exited the profession," according to an article from Education Week.

This report contradicts previous research from professor Robert Ingersoll that suggested more than half of teachers leave the profession within the first five years.

IES has used the data to delve into why teachers leave in the first five years. One big finding was that teachers without any kind of mentor was more likely to leave; 86 percent of teachers with mentors were found to still teach, compared to only 71 percent of teachers without.

"A survey released in April 2014 by the National Network of State Teachers of the Year and the American Institutes for Research found that mentors provided the most value to new teachers of any form of assistance," according to the article.

Further, the data revealed that men are more likely to exit teaching faster than women and that white teachers have a slight "edge in retention over teachers of other races."

And as to be expected, teachers with salaries of $40,000 or more were more likely to stay within the five years than teachers who made less.

Read the full article here and comment below. Note that Education Week's articles are available on a tiered subscription basis.

Article by Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor

5/1/2015