Nontraditional paths to teaching have not made up for the decline in traditional teacher preparation: Traditional and alternative teacher preparation program completers, academic years 2008–2019 

Traditional program completers Alternative program enrollment, IHE and non-IHE based combined Alternative program completers, IHE and non-IHE based combined All completers, traditional and alternative
2008 174,858  81,446  42,542  217,400
2009 174,902   88,028   41,582   216,484 
2010 177,300   72,914   36,763   214,063 
2011 170,400   61,918   28,558   198,958 
2012 160,971   55,933   28,195   189,166 
2013 146,834   58,826   28,442   175,276 
2014 138,851   59,758   29,984   168,835 
2015 127,529   91,851   31,208   158,737 
2016 122,149   99,782   34,136   156,285 
2017 116,343   116,511   32,136   148,479 
2018 114,106   139,634   33,113   147,219 
2019 116,077  177,809  35,061  151,138

Note: IHE refers to institutions of higher education that conduct teacher preparation programs, while non-IHE programs are state-approved teacher preparation programs operating outside of IHEs.

Source: EPI analysis of U.S. Department of Education, Higher Education Act Title II State Report Card System data (Department of Education, “National Teacher Preparation Data,” 2021 Title II Reports, October 2021). 

View the underlying data on epi.org.