Motivation Teacher assistants (TAs) make up a substantial and growing proportion of the workforce in US public schools (Bisht et al., 2021). TAs are integral to the daily function of schools, particularly for high-needs students, and serve a variety of roles, including supporting instruction, behavior management, and logistical duties (Giangreco et al., 2010). Yet, research indicates that TAs’ roles in practice do not always align with their training or expectations (Mason et al., 2021; Fisher & Pleasants, 2012). This may contribute to high rates of turnover, which is much higher among TAs than teachers (Theobald et al., 2025). This study builds upon emergent international literature on the TA workforce by analyzing the content of job postings in the US. We shed light on the ways in which the advertised nature of TA positions aligns and diverges from state and national standards. Additionally, we demonstrate a novel and accessible way of gathering and analyzing data on the TA workforce through web-scraping and text analysis. Method We analyze web-scraped data from all publicly available job postings from in a single state in the United States (Rhode Island). Based on 1,398 total posts collected across a four-month span (September-December 2024), we identify and analyze 345 unique TA posts. Our analysis is based on a taxonomy of competencies and working conditions of TAs, aligned with the CoFTA framework. We use keywords related to statewide and national standards for TAs, as well as common elements of job descriptions (e.g., salary, degree requirements, program area), to analyze the content of each post. Findings Overall, we find that there are notable discrepancies between the content of job postings and the responsibilities of TAs as identified in state and national standards. While 21% of job descriptions include keywords related to professionalism (e.g., “professionalism,” “collaboration,” “communication”), far fewer include keywords related to instruction (10%), behavior (3%), or health, safety, and emergency procedures (3%), all of which are core components of statewide and national standards for TAs. Implications and Future Directions This study leverages a novel dataset to analyze publicly available job postings for TAs. Given that there is an international dearth of research that examines the TA workforce at scale (Webster & De Boer, 2021), this study contributes to the field by offering insights into the nature of TA roles in the US and how responsibilities and expectations diverge in practice versus formalized standards.

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