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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowLeaders at a vast majority of Indiana's school districts say they are still struggling to find qualified teachers.
Indiana State University's annual survey of Hoosier school superintendents shows 91 percent say their districts had a teacher shortage this fall.
That's slightly better than the 94 percent who reported teacher shortages last fall. But 94 percent of the 220 district leaders who completed this year's survey say they continue to struggle to find qualified applicants for some positions, up from 92 percent last year.
The areas of greatest need are science, math and special education. Special education shortages declined from 69 percent last year to 48 percent this year.
Terry McDaniel, an ISU professor of educational leadership who conducts the survey, told the Tribune-Star of Terre Haute that Indiana's teacher shortage remains because its school districts "don't pay well" and teaching remains a tough job.
McDaniel said some prospective teachers go out-of-state to teach because of difficulties in passing Indiana's CORE content area assessment exams.
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