Education Drivers

Principal Turnover Impact

Research suggests that the turnover rate among principals can have a significant impact on the quality of a school’s performance in numerous ways. High principal turnover contributes to greater teacher turnover, resulting in a significant and negative impact on student performance. It also has a direct negative impact on student and school-level achievement as well as on teacher turnover. Additionally, principal turnover becomes a major obstacle to schoolwide improvement efforts. It is generally accepted that such large-scale change efforts take at least 5 years for successful implementation, yet the average length of a principal’s tenure is 3 to 4 years. In low-performing schools and schools serving disadvantaged students, the average tenure is even shorter. Effective principals help weak teachers leave and replace them with strong teachers, but this process takes time and continuity. Finally, principal turnover translates into direct dollar costs to school districts. The total cost of preparation, hiring, internships, mentoring, and continuing education of school principals ranges from $36,850 to $303,000 per individual.

Publications

TITLE
SYNOPSIS
CITATION
Teacher Retention Analysis

This report analyzes the retention problem in the United States through documentation of recent teacher turnover data, and reviews the research on the factors that contribute to teachers’ decisions to remain in the
classroom.

Donley, J. (2019). Teacher Retention Analysis. Oakland, CA: Wing Institute. Retrieved from https://drive.google.com/file/d/1V1YeiC6nzDooV0A1UIRQKt6dnOBMXICz/view?usp=sharing

Teacher Turnover Impact

This report provides an overview of the research that documents how teacher turnover impacts students, teachers, and schools. Understanding turnover’s impact is essential for making the case for the policies and strategies needed to keep effective teachers in classrooms.

Donley, J., Detrich, R, Keyworth, R., & States, J. (2019). Teacher Turnover Impact. Oakland, CA: The Wing Institute. https://www.winginstitute.org/teacher-retention-turnover

Teacher Retention Overview

This paper examines the impact of teacher turnover on education systems. Teacher turnover is quite costly, and primarily has negative consequences for school operations, staff collegiality, and student learning.

 

Donley, J., Detrich, R., Keyworth, R., & States, J. (2019). Teacher Retention. Oakland, CA: The Wing Institute. https://www.winginstitute.org/quality-teachers-retention

Teacher Retention Strategies

Research on teacher turnover has led to the identification of retention strategies to help advance the profession and improve the recruitment, preparation, and support of teachers. This report summarizes available research on these strategies and discusses potential barriers and research on their relative cost-effectiveness.

Donley, J., Detrich, R., States, J., & Keyworth, R. (2019). Teacher Retention Analysis Overview. Oakland, CA: The Wing Institute. https://www.winginstitute.org/teacher-retention-strategies

Working Paper: Understanding Rural Teacher Recruitment and the Role of Community Amenities

This paper is the first attempt to test the community amenity hypotheses in a multivariate framework using administrative data on teacher employment patterns.

Miller, L. C. (2012). Understanding rural teacher recruitment and the role of community amenities. Journal of Research in Rural Education27(13), 1-52.

 

Data Mining

TITLE
SYNOPSIS
CITATION
What is the turnover rate for school principals?

This analysis examines data from the National Schools and Staffing Survey examines school principal turnover in public, private, and charter schools.

Keyworth, R. (2014). What is the turnover rate for school principals? Retrieved from what-is-turnover-rate.

Does principal turnover correlate with a school's socio-economic status?
This analysis examines data from the National Schools and Staffing Survey examines school principal turnover and it's disproportional impact on school with high levels of poverty.
Keyworth, R. (2014). Does principal turnover correlate with a school's socio-economic status? Retrieved from does-principal-turnover-correlate.
How long have school principals typically been employed as principals in their current schools?
This analysis examines data from the National Schools and Staffing Survey examines school principal retention rates.
Keyworth, R. (2014). How long have school principals typically been employed as principals in their current schools? Retrieved from how-long-have-school.
Do student achievement and poverty have an impact on principal turnover?
This analysis examines the impact of student achievement and poverty on school principal turnover.
States, J. (2015). Do student achievement and poverty have an impact on principal turnover? Retrieved from do-student-achievement-and.
TITLE
SYNOPSIS
CITATION
Characteristics of Public, Private, and Bureau of Indian Education Elementary and Secondary School Principals in the United States: Results From the 2007-08 Schools and Staffing Survey. First Look.

This report presents selected findings from the school principal data files of the 2007-08 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS).  It provides the following descriptive information on school principals by school type, student characteristics, and other relevant categories: number, race/ethnicity, age, gender, college degrees, salary, hours worked, focus of work, years experience, and tenure at current school.

Battle, D. (2009). Characteristics of Public, Private, and Bureau of Indian Education Elementary and Secondary School Principals in the United States: Results From the 2007–08 Schools and Staf ng Survey (NCES 2009-323). National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC.

Funding disparities and the inequitable distribution of teachers: Evaluating sources and solutions.

This study examines how and why teacher quality is inequitably distributed, by reviewing research and examining data on school funding, salaries, and teacher qualifications from California and New York—two large states that face similar demographic diversity and educational challenges.

Adamson, F., & Darling-Hammond, L. (2012). Funding disparities and the inequitable distribution of teachers: Evaluating sources and solutions. education policy analysis archives20, 37.

Teacher turnover, teacher quality, and student achievement in DCPS

This study examines this question by evaluating the effects of teacher turnover on student achievement under IMPACT, the unique performance-assessment and incentive system in the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS).

Adnot, M., Dee, T., Katz, V., & Wyckoff, J. (2017). Teacher turnover, teacher quality, and student achievement in DCPS. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis39(1), 54–76.

The schools teachers leave: Teacher mobility in Chicago Public Schools.

In this report, we examine the degree to which teacher mobility is problematic in Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and look at the factors associated with high mobility rates, including teachers’ background characteristics, school structure, students’ characteristics, and workplace conditions.

Allensworth, E., Ponisciak, S., & Mazzeo, C. (2009). The schools teachers leave: teacher mobility in Chicago public schools. Consortium on Chicago School Research.

Mitigating teacher shortages: Financial incentives.

The first brief in this series, Teacher Shortages: What We Know, explores research on teacher shortages and highlights recent state task force findings. This report is one of five policy briefs examining strategies states are using to address shortages.

Aragon, S. (2016). Mitigating teacher shortages: Financial incentives. Retrieved from.

Teacher churning: Reassignment rates and implications for student achievement.

The authors use panel data from New York City to compare four ways in which teachers are new to assignment: new to teaching, new to district, new to school, or new to subject/grade. 

Atteberry, A., Loeb, S., & Wyckoff, J. (2017). Teacher churning: Reassignment rates and implications for student achievement. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis39(1), 3-30.

Teacher churning: Reassignment rates and implications for student achievement.

The authors use panel data from New York City to compare four ways in which teachers are new to assignment: new to teaching, new to district, new to school, or new to subject/grade. 

Atteberry, A., Loeb, S., & Wyckoff, J. (2017). Teacher churning: Reassignment rates and implications for student achievement. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis39(1), 3-30.

Is School Funding Fair? A National Report Card: First Edition

The National Report Card is a critique of state school funding systems and the extent to which these systems ensure equality of educational opportunity for all children, regardless of background, family income, place of residence or school. The report makes the assumption that "fair" school funding is defined as "a state finance system that ensures equal educational opportunity by providing a sufficient level of funding distributed to districts within the state to account for additional needs generated by student poverty."

Baker, B. D., Sciarra, D. G., & Farrie, D. (2010). Is School Funding Fair? A National Report Card. Education Law Center.

Is School Funding Fair? A National Report Card: Second Edition

The Second Edition of the National Report Card on public school funding, Is School Funding Fair?, shows that far too many states continue to deny public schools the essential resources they need to meet the needs of the nation's 53 million students and to boost academic achievement. The National Report Card rates the 50 states on the basis of four "fairness indicators" - funding level, funding distribution, state fiscal effort, and public school coverage. The Report provides the most in-depth analysis to date of state education finance systems and school funding fairness across the nation.

Baker, B. D., Sciarra, D. G., & Farrie, D. (2012). Is School Funding Fair? A National Report Card: Second Edition. Education Law Center.

Is School Funding Fair? A National Report Card: Third Edition

The 3rd Edition of Is School Funding Fair? A National Report Card details how the Great Recession and its aftermath have affected school funding in the states. The National Report Card (NRC) examines each state's level of commitment to equal educational opportunity, regardless of a student's background, family income, or where she or he attends school. Providing fair school funding -- at a sufficient level with additional funds to meet needs generated by poverty -- is crucial if all students are to be afforded the opportunity to learn and be successful.

Baker, B. D., Sciarra, D. G., & Farrie, D. (2014). Is School Funding Fair? A National Report Card: Third Edition. Education Law Center.

The Cost of Teacher Turnover in Five School Districts: A Pilot Study

This research reports on the cost of teacher turnover in five school districts. It reports the rate of turnover, the relationship between turnover and teacher and school characteristics, and the costs associated with recruiting, hiring, and training replacement teachers.

Barnes, G., Crowe, E., & Schaefer, B. (2007). The Cost of Teacher Turnover in Five School Districts: A Pilot Study. National Commission on Teaching and America's Future.

The Impacts of Principal Turnover

Using statewide data from Missouri and Tennessee, we employ a difference-in-differences model with a matched comparison group to estimate arguably causal effects.

Bartanen, B., Grissom, J. A., & Rogers, L. K. (2019). The impacts of principal turnover. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 41(3), 350–374.

Principal Attrition and Mobility: Results from the 2008-09 Principal Follow-Up Survey. First Look.

In order to inform discussions and decisions among policymakers, researchers, and parents, the 2008-09 Principal Follow-up Survey (PFS) was initiated as a nationally representative sample survey of public, private, and Bureau of Indian Education-funded (BIE) K-12 schools in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Battle, D. (2010). Principal Attrition and Mobility: Results from the 2008-09 Principal Follow-Up Survey. First Look. NCES 2010-337. National Center for Education Statistics.

Performance incentives for school administrators.

Districts usually implement principal performance pay systems at the urging of state policymakers or as part of grant-funded efforts. This briefing summarizes research about the efficacy of district approaches, describes state laws in place and offers three considerations for state policymaking.

Baxter, A. (n.d.). Performance incentives for school administrators. Atlanta, GA: Southern Regional Education Board. Retrieved from https://www.ncleg.gov/documentsites/committees/BCCI-6680/Nov 28/2bb_sreb_performance_incentives_handout.pdf

 

From good to great: Exemplary teachers share perspectives on increasing teacher effectiveness across the career continuum.

The main body of the report takes readers through the four stages that this study used to define the teacher career continuum: Preservice, Novice, Career, and Teacher Leader stages.

Behrstock-Sherratt, E., Bassett, K., Olson, D., & Jacques, C. (2014). From Good to Great: Exemplary Teachers Share Perspectives on Increasing Teacher Effectiveness across the Career Continuum. Center on Great Teachers and Leaders.

Stepping stones: Principal career paths and school outcomes

This study examines the detrimental impact of principal turnover, including lower teacher retention and lower student achievement. Particularly hard hit are high poverty schools, which often lose principals at a higher rate as they transition to lower poverty, higher student achievement schools.

Beteille, T., Kalogrides, D., & Loeb, S. (2012). Stepping stones: Principal career paths and school outcomes. Social Science Research, 41(4), 904-919.

Characteristics of Public and Private Elementary and Secondary School Principals in the United States: Results From the 2011-12 Schools and Staffing Summary, First Look

The Characteristics of Public and Private Elementary School Principals in the United States is a subsection of the NCES 2011-12 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS). It provides descriptive statistics on K-12 school principals in areas such as: race, gender, education level, salary, experience, and working conditions.

Bitterman, A., Goldring, R., Gray, L., Broughman, S. (2014).Characteristics of Public and Private Elementary and Secondary School Principals in the United States:Results From the 2011-12 Schools and Staffing Summary, First Look. IES, National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education

Teacher turnover: Examining exit attrition, teaching area transfer, and school migration

The purposes of this research were to quantify trends in three components of teacher turnover and to investigate claims of excessive teacher turnover as the predominant source of teacher shortages.

Boe, E. E., Cook, L. H., & Sunderland, R. J. (2008). Teacher turnover: Examining exit attrition, teaching area transfer, and school migration. Exceptional children75(1), 7-31.

Teacher attrition and retention: A meta-analytic and narrative review of the research

This comprehensive meta-analysis on teacher career trajectories, consisting of 34 studies of 63 attrition moderators, seeks to understand why teaching attrition occurs, or what factors moderate attrition outcomes.

Borman, G. D., & Dowling, N. M. (2008). Teacher attrition and retention: A meta-analytic and narrative review of the research. Review of educational research78(3), 367-409.

Preparation and support for teachers in public schools: Reflections on the first year of teaching

This Statistics in Brief adds to existing research on early-career teachers by presenting findings on their preparation and supports from data from the 2011–12 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS). This brief, like past research, investigates several specific areas of preparation and types of support.

Bowsher, A., Sparks, D., & Hoyer, K. M. (2018). Preparation and Support for Teachers in Public Schools: Reflections on the First Year of Teaching. Stats in Brief. NCES 2018-143. National Center for Education Statistics.

Principal turnover: Are there different types of principals who move from or leave their schools? A latent class analysis of the 2007–08 schools and staffing survey and the 2008–09 principal follow-up survey.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the extent to which there is a typology of principals who depart from their schools in the US using the 2007–2008 Schools and Staffing Survey and the 2008–2009 Principal Follow-up Survey. Prior principal retention research has focused on identifying factors that predict principal turnover; however, this research has not focused on understanding the extent to which there may potentially be different subgroups of principals who depart. 

Boyce, J., Bowers, A. J. (2016). Principal turnover: Are there different types of principals who move from or leave their schools? A latent class analysis of the 2007–08 schools and staffing survey and the 2008–09 principal follow-up survey. Leadership and Policy in Schools, 15(3), 237–272.

Alternative certification in the long run: A decade of evidence on the effects of alternative certification in New York City

This paper assess the long-run implications of alternatively certified teachers. 

Boyd, D., Dunlop, E., Lankford, H., Loeb, S., Mahler, P., O’Brien, R., & Wyckoff, J. (2012). Alternative certification in the long run: A decade of evidence on the effects of alternative certification in New York City. In annual meeting of the American Education Finance and Policy Conference, Boston, MA.

The influence of school administrators on teacher retention decisions

This article explores the relationship between school contextual factors and teacher retention decisions in New York City and finds that school administration by far has the greatest influence on teacher retention.

Boyd, D., Grossman, P., Ing, M., Lankford, H., Loeb, S., & Wyckoff, J. (2011). The influence of school administrators on teacher retention decisions. American Educational Research Journal, 48(2), 303-333.

Who Leaves? Teacher Attrition and Student Achievement

The goal of this paper is to estimate the extent to which there is differential attrition based on teachers' value-added to student achievement.

Boyd, D., Grossman, P., Lankford, H., Loeb, S., & Wyckoff, J. (2008). Who leaves? Teacher attrition and student achievement. Working Paper No. 14022. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research. Retrieved from https://www.nber.org/papers/w14022

Explaining the short careers of high-achieving teachers in schools with low-performing students

This paper examines New York City elementary school teachers’ decisions to stay in the same school, transfer to another school in the district, transfer to another district, or leave teaching in New York state during the first five years of their careers.

Boyd, D., Lankford, H., Loeb, S., & Wyckoff, J. (2005). Explaining the short careers of high-achieving teachers in schools with low-performing students. American Economic Review, 95(2), 166-171.

The narrowing gap in New York City teacher qualifications and its implications for student achievement in high-poverty schools.

By estimating the effect of teacher attributes using a value-added model, the analyses in this paper predict that observable qualifications of teachers resulted in average improved achievement for students in the poorest decile of schools of .03 standard deviations.

Boyd, D., Lankford, H., Loeb, S., Rockoff, J., & Wyckoff, J. (2008). The narrowing gap in New York City teacher qualifications and its implications for student achievement in high‐poverty schools. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management: The Journal of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management27(4), 793-818.

The role of teacher quality in retention and hiring: Using applications-to-transfer to uncover preferences of teachers and schools.

This study uses applications-to-transfer data to examine separately which teachers apply for transfer and which get hired and, in so doing, differentiates teachers from school preferences.

Boyd, D., Lankford, H., Loeb, S., Ronfeldt, M., & Wyckoff, J. (2010). The role of teacher quality in retention and hiring: Using applications-to-transfer to uncover preferences of teachers and schools. Working Paper No. 15966. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research. Retrieved from https://www.nber.org/papers/w15966.pdf

School leaders matter: Measuring the impact of effective principals.

This study provides new evidence on the importance of school leadership by estimating individual principals’ contributions to growth in student achievement.

Branch, G., Hanushek, E., & Rivkin, S. G. (2013). School leaders matter: measuring the impact of effective principals Education Next, 13.

Organizing schools for improvement: Lessons from Chicago

The authors of this illuminating book identify a comprehensive set of practices and conditions that were key factors for improvement, including school leadership, the professional capacity of the faculty and staff, and a student-centered learning climate.

Bryk, A. S., Sebring, P. B., Allensworth, E., Easton, J. Q., & Luppescu, S. (2010). Organizing schools for improvement: Lessons from Chicago. University of Chicago Press.

Teacher turnover: Why it matters and what we can do about it.

The analysis of nationally representative survey data from the 2012 Schools and Staffing Survey and the 2013 Teacher Follow-up Survey reveals that the severity of turnover varies markedly across the country

Carver-Thomas, D., & Darling-Hammond, L. (2017). Teacher turnover: Why it matters and what we can do about it. Palo Alto, CA: Learning Policy Institute.

The trouble with teacher turnover: How teacher attrition affects students and schools

Using the most recent nationally representative data from the National Center for Education Statistics' Schools and Staffing Surveys, the authors detail which teachers are leaving, why, and which students are most impacted.

Carver-Thomas, D., & Darling-Hammond, L. (2019). The trouble with teacher turnover: How teacher attrition affects students and schools. education policy analysis archives27, 36.

University Council for Educational Administration: Quality Leadership Matters

Policy Brief 2018-1: Addressing the Importance and Scale of the U.S. Teacher Shortage

Castro, A., Quinn, D. J., Fuller, E., & Barnes, M. (2018). Quality leadership matters. University Council for Educational Administration. Policy Brief Series,(1)1.

Value-added measures: How and why the strategic data project uses them to study teacher effectiveness

This brief explains how and why Strategic Data Project (SDP) uses value-added measures for our diagnostic work. We also explain how value-added measures relate to other measures of teacher effectiveness and the limitations of value-added measures.

Center for Education Policy Research. (2011). Value-added measures: How and why the strategic data project uses them to study teacher effectiveness. Retrieved from https://hwpi.harvard.edu/files/sdp/files/sdp-va-memo_0.pdf

Center on School Turnaround and Improvement.

The Four Domains for Rapid School Improvement: A Systems Framework (PDF) is a research-based approach to school turnaround — proven to help states, districts, and schools in effectively leading and managing rapid improvement efforts.

Center on School Turnaround and Improvement. (2017). Four domains for rapid school improvement: A systems framework. San Francisco, CA: WestEd. Retrieved from http://centeronschoolturnaround.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/CST_Four-Domains-Framework-Final.pdf

Measuring the Impacts of Teachers II: Teacher Value-Added and Student Outcomes in Adulthood

This paper examines the issue of the efficacy of valued-added measures in evaluating the effectiveness of teachers and long term impact on student’s lives.

Chetty, R., Friedman, J. N., & Rockoff, J. E. (in press II). Measuring the impact of teachers II: Evaluating bias in teacher value-added estimates. American Economic Review.

The effectiveness of secondary math teachers from Teach for America and the Teaching Fellows Programs

The study separately compares the effectiveness of teachers from each program with the effectiveness of other teachers teaching the same subjects in the same schools.

Clark, M. A., Chiang, H. S., Silva, T., McConnell, S., Sonnenfeld, K., Erbe, A., & Puma, M. (2013). The effectiveness of secondary math teachers from Teach for America and the Teaching Fellows Programs (NCEE 2013-4015). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved from https://ies.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=NCEE20134015

Would higher salaries keep teachers in high-poverty schools? Evidence from a policy intervention in North Carolina

Using longitudinal data on teachers, we estimate hazard models that identify the impact of this differential pay by comparing turnover patterns before and after the program’s implementation, across eligible and ineligible categories of teachers, and across eligible and barely-ineligible schools.

Clotfelter, C. T., Glennie, E., Ladd, H. F., & Vigdor. J. L. (2008). Would higher salaries keep teachers in high-poverty schools? Evidence from a policy intervention in North Carolina. Journal of Public Economics, 92(5), 1352–1370.

Teacher mobility, school segregation, and pay-based policies to level the playing field

Using information on teaching spells in North Carolina, the authors examine the potential for using salary differentials to overcome this pattern. They conclude that salary differentials are a far less effective tool for retaining teachers with strong pre‐service qualifications than for retaining other teachers in schools with high proportions of minority students. 

Clotfelter, C. T., Ladd, H. F., Vigdor, J. L. (2011). Teacher mobility, school segregation, and pay-based policies to level the playing field. Education Finance and Policy6(3), 399-438.

High-Poverty Schools and the Distribution of Teachers and Principals

Although many factors combine to make a successful school, most people agree that quality teachers and school principals are among the most important requirements for success, especially when success is defined by the ability of the school to raise the achievement of its students. The central question for this study is how the quality of the teachers and principals in high-poverty schools in North Carolina compares to that in the schools serving more advantaged students.

Clotfelter, C., Ladd, H. F., Vigdor, J., & Wheeler, J. (2006). High-poverty schools and the distribution of teachers and principals. NCL Rev., 85, 1345.

Qualifications and assignments of alternatively certified teachers: Testing core assumptions.

By analyzing data from the Schools and Staffing Survey, the authors empirically test four of the core assumptions embedded in current arguments for expanding alternative teacher certification (AC):

Cohen-Vogel, L., & Smith, T. M. (2007). Qualifications and assignments of alternatively certified teachers: Testing core assumptions. American Educational Research Journal44(3), 732-753.

An Evaluation of Teachers Trained Through Different Routes to Certification, Final Report

The study compares the effectiveness of different routes to teaching. It finds there is no significant difference in the effectiveness of teachers who were traditionally trained when compared to teachers who obtained training through alternative credential programs.

Constantine, J., D. Player, T. Silva, K. Hallgren, M. Grider, and J. Deke, 2009. An Evaluation of Teachers Trained Through Different Routes to Certification, Final Report (NCEE 2009- 4043). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.

Identifying competencies and actions of effective turnaround principals.

This briefing paper addresses the essential competencies and actions of the turnaround principal.

Copeland, G., & Neeley, A. (2013). Identifying competencies and actions of effective turnaround principals. Austin, TX: Southeast Comprehensive Center at SEDL. Retrieved from http://secc.sedl.org/resources/briefs/effective_turnaround_principals/

Missing elements in the discussion of teacher shortages

Though policymakers are increasingly concerned about teacher shortages in U.S. public schools, the national discussion does not reflect historical patterns of the supply of and demand for newly minted teachers.

Cowan, J., Goldhaber, D., Hayes, K., & Theobald, R. (2016). Missing elements in the discussion of teacher shortages. Educational Researcher45(8), 460–462.

The compositional effect of rigorous teacher evaluation on workforce quality

In this paper, we study how providing improved information to principals about teacher effectiveness and encouraging them to use the information in personnel decisions affects the composition of teacher turnovers.

Cullen, J. B., Koedel, C., & Parsons, E. (2016). The compositional effect of rigorous teacher evaluation on workforce quality. Working Paper No. 22805. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research. Retrieved from https://www.nber.org/papers/w22805.pdf

Estimated public charter school enrollment,

This information is used to determine the current number of charter schools in each state and to estimate total charter school enrollment at the national level.

David, R., & Hesla, K. (2018). Estimated public charter school enrollment, 2017–2018. Washington, D.C.: National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Retrieved from https://www.publiccharters.org/sites/default/files/documents/2018-03/FINAL%20Estimated%20Public%20Charter%20School%20Enrollment%252c%202017-18_0.pdf

Principal turnover in Illinois public schools, 2001-2008

This report is the second in an IERC series on public school principals in Illinois. This study focuses on principals’ movements during the same period, thereby providing recent information on principal retention and turnover during a time marked by increasing school accountability and public scrutiny of principal effectiveness

DeAngelis, K. J., & White, B. R. (2011). Principal turnover in Illinois public schools, 2001-2008 (IERC 2011-1). Edwardsville, IL: Illinois Education Research Council. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED518191.pdf

 
Understanding and addressing teacher shortages in the United States.

While anecdotal accounts of substantial teacher shortages are increasingly common, we present evidence that such shortages are not a general phenomenon but rather are highly concentrated by subject and in schools where hiring and retaining teachers are chronic problems. We discuss several promising, complementary approaches for addressing teacher shortages.

Dee, T. S., & Goldhaber, D. (2017). Understanding and addressing teacher shortages in the United States. The Hamilton Project.

The cost of teacher turnover in Alaska

The costs associated with teacher turnover in Alaska are considerable, but have never been systematically calculated,1 and this study emerged from interests among Alaska education researchers, policymakers, and stakeholders to better understand these costs.

DeFeo, D. J., Tran, T., Hirshberg, D., Cope, D., & Cravez, P. (2017). The cost of teacher turnover in Alaska. Anchorage, AK: Center for Alaska Education Policy Research, University of Alaska Anchorage. Retrieved from https://scholarworks.alaska.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/11122/7815/2017-CostTeacher.pdf?sequence=1

The principalship at a crossroads: A study of the conditions and concerns of principals.

This study examined the conditions and concerns of principals in Virginia to see what their experiences and perceptions are of the growing shortage in the principalship. Findings suggest that principals do not feel that they have sufficient authority and resources to get the job done and that they are working long hours to fill the gap.

DiPaola, M., & Tschannen-Moran, M. (2003). The principalship at a crossroads: A study of the conditions and concerns of principals. NASSP Bulletin87, 43–65.

The price of misassignment: The role of teaching assignments in Teach for America teachers’ exit from low-income schools and the teaching profession.

This study is the first to examine these teachers’ retention nationwide, asking whether, when, and why they voluntarily transfer from their low-income placement schools or leave teaching altogether.

Donaldson, M. L., & Johnson, S. M. (2010). The price of misassignment: The role of teaching assignments in Teach for America teachers’ exit from low-income schools and the teaching profession. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis32(2), 299-323.

Teacher Retention Analysis

This report analyzes the retention problem in the United States through documentation of recent teacher turnover data, and reviews the research on the factors that contribute to teachers’ decisions to remain in the
classroom.

Donley, J. (2019). Teacher Retention Analysis. Oakland, CA: Wing Institute. Retrieved from https://drive.google.com/file/d/1V1YeiC6nzDooV0A1UIRQKt6dnOBMXICz/view?usp=sharing

Teacher Turnover Impact

This report provides an overview of the research that documents how teacher turnover impacts students, teachers, and schools. Understanding turnover’s impact is essential for making the case for the policies and strategies needed to keep effective teachers in classrooms.

Donley, J., Detrich, R, Keyworth, R., & States, J. (2019). Teacher Turnover Impact. Oakland, CA: The Wing Institute. https://www.winginstitute.org/teacher-retention-turnover

 
Teacher Retention Overview

This paper examines the impact of teacher turnover on education systems. Teacher turnover is quite costly, and primarily has negative consequences for school operations, staff collegiality, and student learning.

 

Donley, J., Detrich, R., Keyworth, R., & States, J. (2019). Teacher Retention. Oakland, CA: The Wing Institute. https://www.winginstitute.org/quality-teachers-retention

Teacher Retention Strategies

Research on teacher turnover has led to the identification of retention strategies to help advance the profession and improve the recruitment, preparation, and support of teachers. This report summarizes available research on these strategies and discusses potential barriers and research on their relative cost-effectiveness.

Donley, J., Detrich, R., States, J., & Keyworth, R. (2019). Teacher Retention Analysis Overview. Oakland, CA: The Wing Institute. https://www.winginstitute.org/teacher-retention-strategies

Policy brief 2018–4: Impact of principal turnover

This brief explores why principal turnover matters and how the effects of this issue are borne out in schools. Specific policy recommendations based on research and aimed at reducing principal turnover are provided.

Edwards, W. L., Quinn, D. J., Fuller, E. J., & Pendola, A. (2018). Policy brief 2018–4: Impact of principal turnover. Charlottesville, VA: University Council for Educational Administration, University of Virginia. Retrieved from http://3fl71l2qoj4l3y6ep2tqpwra.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Policy-Brief-2018-–-4-Impact-of-Principal-Turnover.pdf

 
Administrator career paths and decision processes: Evidence from Delaware

The purpose of this paper is to present qualitative evidence on the processes and forces that shape school administrator career paths.

Farley-Ripple E. N., Raffel, J. A., & Welch, J. C. (2012). Administrator career paths and decision processes: Evidence from Delaware. Journal of Educational Administration50(6), 788–816.

Teacher quality and teacher mobility

Using matched student-teacher panel data from the state of Florida, the authors study the determinants of teacher job change and the impact of such mobility on the distribution of teacher quality.

Feng, L., & Sass, T. R. (2017). Teacher quality and teacher mobility. Education Finance and Policy12(3), 396–418.

Restorative justice in U.S. schools: An updated research review.

This report presents information garnered from a comprehensive review of the literature on restorative
justice1 in U.S. schools. The purpose of this review is to capture key issues, describe models of
restorative justice, and summarize results from studies conducted in the field.

Fronius, T., Darling-Hammond, S., Persson, H., Guckenburg, S., Hurley, N., & Petrosino, A. (2019). Restorative justice in U.S. schools: An updated research review. San Francisco, CA: WestEd. Retrieved from https://www.wested.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/resource-restorative-justice-in-u-s-schools-an-updated-research-review.pdf

Working conditions and retention of principals in small and mid-sized urban districts.

This chapter analyzes 2011 survey data from a sample of Texas principals who were asked about their perceptions of their working conditions such as: Support and facilities; salary; resources; autonomy to make decisions; testing and accountability pressures; and relationships with supervisors. 

Fuller, E. J., Hollingworth, L., Young, M. D. (2015). Working conditions and retention of principals in small and mid-sized urban districts. In I. E., Sutherland, K. L. Sanzo, & J. P. Scribner (Eds.), Leading small and mid-sized urban school districts (Vol. 22, pp. 41–64). Bingley, UK: Emerald Group. 

The relationship between principal characteristics, principal turnover, teacher quality, and student achievement

The purpose of this study is to examine how the principal preparation programs of newly hired elementary school principals might influence school achievement. The study looks at differing elementary school principal preparation program approaches impact on build teams and the affect this has on student achievement.

Fuller, E. J., Young, M. D., & Baker, B. (2007). The relationship between principal characteristics, principal turnover, teacher quality, and student achievement. In annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association. Chicago, IL. Retrieved November 20, 2014 from http://www.ucea. org/storage/implications/ ImplicationsMar2008.pdf

Planning for the Future: Leadership development and succession planning in education

This article reviews the research and best practices on succession planning in education as well as in other sectors. The authors illustrate how forward-thinking superintendents can partner with universities and other organizations to address the leadership challenges they face by creating strategic, long-term, leadership growth plans that build leadership capacity and potentially yield significant returns in improved student outcomes.

Fusarelli, B. C., Fusarelli, L. D., & Riddick, F. (2018). Planning for the future: Leadership development and succession planning in education. Journal of Research on Leadership Education13(3), 286–313.

Mobility and turnover among school principals.

This paper uses administrative data from two states covering the school years 1987–1988 to
2000–2001 to examine principal turnover and mobility.

Gates, S., Ringel, J., Santilbanez, L., Guarino, C., Ghosh-Dastidar, B., & Brown, A. (2006). Mobility and turnover among school principals. Economics of Education Review25(3), 289–302. Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/24902520/Mobility_and_turnover_among_school_principals

The association between teaching students with disabilities and teacher turnover.

The authors fit multilevel logistic regression models to a large state administrative dataset in order to examine (1) if the percentage of SWDs a teacher instructs was associated with turnover, (2) if this association varied by student disability, and (3) how these associations were moderated by special education certification.

Gilmour, A. F., & Wehby, J. H. (2019). The Association Between Teaching Students with Disabilities and Teacher Turnover.

Impacts of comprehensive teacher induction: Results from the frst year of a randomized controlled study

The study examines whether comprehensive teacher induction programs lead to higher teacher retention rates and other positive teacher and student outcomes as compared to prevailing, generally less comprehensive approaches to supporting new teachers

Glazerman, S., Dolfin, S., Bleeker, M., Johnson, A., Isenberg, E., Lugo-Gil, J., ... & Ali, M. (2008). Impacts of Comprehensive Teacher Induction: Results from the First Year of a Randomized Controlled Study. NCEE 2009-4034. National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance.

Teacher career paths, teacher quality, and persistence in the classroom: Are public schools keeping their best?

In this paper we examine the mobility of early-career teachers of varying quality, measured using value-added estimates of teacher performance.

Goldhaber, D., Gross, B., & Player, D. (2011). Teacher career paths, teacher quality, and persistence in the classroom: Are public schools keeping their best?. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management30(1), 57-87.

Refueling the STEM and special education teacher pipelines.

This article documents the mismatch between the supply and demand of STEM and special education teachers in Washington State, where almost 4,000 more STEM and special education teachers have left the profession than have been produced by in-state teacher training institutions over the past 25 years. 

Goldhaber, D., Krieg, J., Theobald, R., & Brown, N. (2015). Refueling the STEM and special education teacher pipelines. Phi Delta Kappan97(4), 56-62.

Uneven Playing Field? Assessing the Teacher Quality Gap Between Advantaged and Disadvantaged Students

In this study, we present a comprehensive, descriptive analysis of the inequitable distribution of both input and output measures of teacher quality across various indicators of student disadvantage across all school districts in Washington State.

Goldhaber, D., Lavery, L., & Theobald, R. (2015). Uneven playing field? Assessing the teacher quality gap between advantaged and disadvantaged students. Educational researcher44(5), 293-307.

Uneven playing field? Assessing the teacher quality gaps between advantaged and disadvantaged students.

This study presents a comprehensive, descriptive analysis of the inequitable distribution of both input and output measures of teacher quality across various indicators of student disadvantage across all school districts in Washington State. 

Goldhaber, D., Lavery, L., & Theobald, R. (2015). Uneven playing field? Assessing the teacher quality gaps between advantaged and disadvantaged students. Educational Researcher44(5), 293–307.

A new role emerges for principal supervisors: Evidence from six districts in the Principal Supervisor Initiative

This report presents analyses of data from semistructured interviews with central office personnel, principal supervisors, and principals, as well as data from surveys of supervisors and principals in each of the six PSI districts.

Goldring, E. B., Grissom, J. A., Rubin, M., Rogers, L. K., Neel, M., & Clark, M. A. (2018). A new role emerges for principal supervisors: Evidence from six districts in the Principal Supervisor Initiative. New York, NY: Wallace Foundation. Retrieved from https://www.wallacefoundation.org/knowledge-center/Documents/A-New-Role-Emerges-for-Principal-Supervisors.pdf

Making time for instructional leadership, Vol. 1: The evolution of the SAM process.

This report describes the ongoing development and implementation of the SAM® process, which has the goal of increasing the capacity of principals to use time in instructionally focused ways while decreasing time on management tasks. 

Goldring, E., Grissom, J. A., Neumerski, C. M., Murphy, J., Blissett, R., & Porter, A. (2015). Making time for instructional leadership, Vol. 1: The evolution of the SAM process. New York, NY: Wallace Foundation. Retrieved from https://www.wallacefoundation.org/knowledge-center/Documents/Making-Time-for-Instructional-Leadership-Executive-Summary.pdf

principal attrition and mobility: Results from the 2012–13 principal follow-up survey (NCES 2014-064 rev).

The Principal Follow-up Survey (PFS), first conducted in school year 2008-09, is a component of the 2011-12 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS). The 2012-13 PFS was administered in order to provide attrition rates for principals in K-12 public and private schools. The goal was to assess how many principals in the 2011-12 school year still worked as a principal in the same school in the 2012-13 school year, how many had moved to become a principal in another school, and how many had left the principalship.

Goldring, R., & Taie, S. (2014). Principal attrition and mobility: Results from the 2012–13 principal follow-up survey (NCES 2014-064 rev). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2014064rev

Principal attrition and mobility: Results from the 2016–17 principal follow-up survey (NCES 2018-066)

This report presents selected findings from the Public School Principal Status Data File of the 2016–17 Principal Follow-up Survey (PFS). The PFS is a nationally representative sample survey of public1 K–12 schools in the 50 states and District of Columbia and was initiated to inform discussions and decisions regarding principal attrition and mobility among policymakers, researchers, and parents.

Goldring, R., & Taie, S. (2018). Principal attrition and mobility: Results from the 2016–17 principal follow-up survey (NCES 2018-066). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2018/2018066.pdf

Public school teacher attrition and mobility in the first five years: Results from the first through fifth waves of the 2007-08 beginning teacher longitudinal study

This report provides nationally representative data on attrition and mobility of beginning teachers in public elementary and secondary schools.

Gray, L., & Taie, S. (2015). Public School Teacher Attrition and Mobility in the First Five Years: Results from the First through Fifth Waves of the 2007-08 Beginning Teacher Longitudinal Study. First Look. NCES 2015-337. National center for education statistics.

Can good principals keep teachers in disadvantaged schools? Linking principal effectiveness to teacher satisfaction and turnover in hard-to-staff environments.

This study hypothesizes that school working conditions help explain both teacher satisfaction and turnover. In particular, it focuses on the role of effective principals in retaining teachers, particularly in disadvantaged schools with the greatest staffing challenges. 

Grissom, J. A. (2011). Can good principals keep teachers in disadvantaged schools? Linking principal effectiveness to teacher satisfaction and turnover in hard-to-staff environments. Teachers College Record113(11), 2552-2585.

Strategic retention: Principal effectiveness and teacher turnover in multiple-measure teacher evaluation systems

Using multiple measures of teacher and principal effectiveness, the authors document that indeed more effective principals see lower rates of teacher turnover, on average

Grissom, J. A., & Bartanen, B. (2019). Strategic retention: Principal effectiveness and teacher turnover in multiple-measure teacher evaluation systems. American Educational Research Journal56(2), 514–555.

Principal effectiveness and principal turnover.

This study investigate the association between principal effectiveness and principal turnover using longitudinal data from Tennessee, a state that has invested in multiple measures of principal performance through its educator evaluation system.

Grissom, J. A., & Bartanen, B. (2019a). Principal effectiveness and principal turnover. Education Finance and Policy14(3), 355–382. Retrieved from https://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/full/10.1162/edfp_a_00256

 
Evaluating school principals: Supervisor ratings of principal practice and principal job performance.

Numerous studies investigate high-stakes personnel evaluation systems in education, but nearly all focus on evaluation of teachers. The authors instead examine the evaluation of school principals at scale using data from the first 4 years of implementation of Tennessee’s multiple-measure administrator evaluation system. 

Grissom, J. A., Blissett, R. S. L., & Mitani, H. (2018). Evaluating school principals: Supervisor ratings of principal practice and principal job performance. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis40(3), 446–472.

Using student test scores to measure principal performance.

this article identifies multiple conceptual approaches for capturing the contributions of principals to student test score growth, develops empirical models to reflect these approaches, examines the properties of these models, and compares the results of the models empirically using data from a large urban school district.

Grissom, J. A., Kalogrides, D., & Loeb, S. (2015). Using student test scores to measure principal performance. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis37(1), 3–28.

Parallel patterns: Teacher attrition in charter vs. district schools

This report examines how teacher turnover in charter schools resembles and differs from teacher turnover in traditional public schools. They offer two perspectives on the issue.

Gross, B., & DeArmond, M. (2010). Parallel patterns: Teacher attrition in charter vs. district schools. Seattle, WA: Center on Reinventing Public Education, University of Washington. Retrieved from http://www.crpe.org/sites/default/files/pub_ics_Attrition_Sep10_0.pdf

Chronic Teacher Turnover in Urban Elementary Schools

This study examines the characteristics of elementary schools that experience chronic teacher turnover and the impacts of turnover on a school’s working climate and ability to effectively function. 

Guin, K. (2004). Chronic teacher turnover in urban elementary schools. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 12(42), 1–30.

Chronic Teacher Turnover in Urban Elementary Schools

This study examines the characteristics of elementary schools that experience chronic teacher turnover and the impacts of turnover on a school’s working climate and ability to effectively function. 

Guin, K. (2004). Chronic teacher turnover in urban elementary schools. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 12(42), 1–30.

Newly Hired Teacher Mobility in Charter Schools and Traditional Public Schools: An Application of Segmented Labor Market Theory

This study draws on segmented labor market theory to examine the dynamics of the teacher labor market in charters and TPS, focusing on newly hired teachers. 

Gulosino, C., Ni, Y., & Rorrer, A. K. (2019). Newly Hired Teacher Mobility in Charter Schools and Traditional Public Schools: An Application of Segmented Labor Market Theory. American Journal of Education125(4), 000-000.

Assessing the measurement properties of the Principal Instructional Management Rating Scale: A meta-analysis of reliability studies

This article seeks to provide a comprehensive and detailed picture of reliability results. More specifically, the authors present a meta-analysis of reliability results derived from 52 data sets derived from 43 independent empirical studies in which the PIMRS had been employed for data collection.

Hallinger, P., Wang, W.-C., & Chen, C.-W. (2013). Assessing the measurement properties of the Principal Instructional Management Rating Scale: A meta-analysis of reliability studies. Educational Administration Quarterly49(2), 272–309.

Improving school leadership through support, evaluation, and incentives: The Pittsburgh Principal Incentive Program.

The RAND Corporation served as the evaluator of PPIP and examined implementation and outcomes from school years 2007–2008 through 2010–2011. Although the district is likely to continue implementing much of what constitutes PPIP, this report focuses only on the period during which PPIP was being funded by the TIF grant.

Hamilton, L. S., Engberg, J., Steiner, E. D., Nelson, C. A., & Yuan, K. (2012). Improving school leadership through support, evaluation, and incentives: The Pittsburgh Principal Incentive Program. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation. Retrieved from https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/monographs/2012/RAND_MG1223.pdf

Teacher Deselection.

This discussion provides a quantitative statement of one approach to achieving the governors’ (and the nation’s) goals – teacher deselection.

Hanushek, E. A. (2009). Teacher deselection. Creating a new teaching profession168, 172-173.

Teacher Quality

This chapter of Handbook of The Economics of Education reviews research on teacher labor markets, the importance of teacher quality in the determination of student achievement, and the extent to which specific observable characteristics often related to hiring decisions and salary explain the variation in the quality of instruction.

Hanushek, E. A., & Rivkin, S. G. (2006). Teacher quality. In E. A. Hanushek & F. Welch (Eds.), Handbook of the economics of education, vol. 2 (pp. 1051–1078). Amsterdam, Netherlands: North Holland.

Pay, working conditions, and teacher quality.

Eric Hanushek and Steven Rivkin examine how salary and working conditions affect the quality of instruction in the classroom.

Hanushek, E. A., & Rivkin, S. G. (2007). Pay, working conditions, and teacher quality. The Future of Children17(1), 69–86. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ795875.pdf

 
Constrained job matching: Does teacher job search harm disadvantaged urban schools?

This paper provides direct evidence about the impacts of school job matching on productivity and student achievement.

Hanushek, E. A., & Rivkin, S. G. (2010). Constrained job matching: Does teacher job search harm disadvantaged urban schools? Working Paper No. 15816. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research. Retrieved from https://www.nber.org/papers/w15816.pdf

The Value of Smarter Teachers: International Evidence on Teacher Cognitive Skills and Student Performance

This new research addresses a number of critical questions:  Are a teacher’s cognitive skills a good predictor of teacher quality? This study examines the student achievement of 36 developed countries in the context of teacher cognitive skills. This study finds substantial differences in teacher cognitive skills across countries that are strongly related to student performance.

Hanushek, E. A., Piopiunik, M., & Wiederhold, S. (2014). The value of smarter teachers: International evidence on teacher cognitive skills and student performance (No. w20727). National Bureau of Economic Research.

 

Dynamic effects of teacher turnover on the quality of instruction

This paper examines the combined effects of overall turnover and the quality distribution of teacher transitions for a large, urban district in Texas with special emphasis on nonrandom sorting of students into classrooms, endogenous teacher exits, and grade-switching.

Hanushek, E. A., Rivkin, S. G., & Schiman, J. C. (2016). Dynamic effects of teacher turnover on the quality of instruction. Economics of Education Review, 55, 132–148.

Why public schools lose teachers

This paper examines the issue of teacher attrition and the factors that motivate teachers leaving schools. The results indicate that teacher mobility is much more strongly related to characteristics of the student population (race and lower socioeconomic status) and achievement. The study finds salary plays a much smaller role in these decisions.

Hanushek, E., Kain, J., & Rivkin, S. (2004). Why public schools lose teachers. Journal of Human Resources, 39(2), 326-354.

Teacher training, teacher quality and student achievement

The authors study the effects of various types of education and training on the ability of teachers to promote student achievement.

Harris, D. N., & Sass, T. R. (2011). Teacher training, teacher quality and student achievement. Journal of Public Economics95(7–8), 798-812.

 

 
Career Changers in the Classroom: A National Portrait

This volume is the third report in a series on the potential, promise, experience, and needs of career changers who are teaching in America’s classrooms today. It is based on a survey of a cross-section of such individuals conducted by Hart Research Associates in 2009.

Hart Research Associates (2010). Career changers in the classroom: A national portrait. Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. Retrieved from http://www.woodrow. org/images/pdf/policy/CareerChangersClassroom_0210.pdf

The big U-turn: How to bring schools from the brink of doom to stellar success.

How to bring schools from the brink of doom to stellar success.

Hassel, E. A., & Hassel, B. (2009). The big U-turn: How to bring schools from the brink of doom to stellar success. Education Next9(1), 21–27. Retrieved from https://www.educationnext.org/the-big-uturn/

Differential teacher attrition: Do high-ability teachers exit at higher rates?

This work presents new evidence on the nature of differential teacher attrition in Texas and attempts to reconcile these conflicting results. 

Hendricks, M. D. (2016). Differential teacher attrition: Do high-ability teachers exit at higher rates? Working paper. Retrieved from https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2824586

Turnover at the top: Estimating the effects of principal turnover on student, teacher, and school outcomes

Because principal turnover may occur in response to or contemporaneous with a downturn in student achievement, the effect of a turnover is confounded with unobserved school-level factors. We employ a novel identification strategy that blocks each potential source of endogeneity to isolate plausibly causal effects of within- and between-year principal turnover.

Henry, G. T., & Harbatkin, E. (2019). Turnover at the top: Estimating the effects of principal turnover on student, teacher, and school outcomes (EdWorkingPaper 19-95). Providence, RI: Annenberg Institute at Brown University. Retrieved from https://edworkingpapers.com/sites/default/files/ai19-95.pdf

 
The consequences of leaving school early: The effects of within-year and end-of-year teacher turnover.

Using unique administrative data from North Carolina that allow us to separate classroom teacher turnover during the school year from end-of -year turnover, this research find students who lose their teacher during the school year have significantly lower test score gains than those students when their teachers stay. 

Henry, G. T., & Redding, C. (2018). The consequences of leaving school early: The effects of within-year and end-of-year teacher turnover. Education Finance and Policy, 1-52.

School leadership interventions under the Every Student Succeeds Act: Evidence review.

This report describes the opportunities for supporting school leadership under ESSA, discusses the standards of evidence under ESSA, and synthesizes the research base with respect to those standards.

Herman, R., Gates, S. M., Arifkhanova, A., Barrett, M., Bega, A., Chavez-Herrerias, E. R., … Wrabel, S. L. (2017). School leadership interventions under the Every Student Succeeds Act: Evidence review. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation. Retrieved from https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR1500/RR1550-3/RAND_RR1550-3.pdf

Trends in Public and Private School Principal Demographics and Qualifications: 1987 - 88 to 2011 - 12

This report provides descriptive information on traditional public, charter, and private school principals over the period of 1987-88 through 2011-12. It includes comparative data on number of principals, gender, race/ethnicity, age, advance degrees, principal experience, teaching experience, salaries, hours worked, focus of work, experience and tenure at current schools, etc.

Hill, J., Ottem, R., & DeRoche, J. (2016). Trends in Public and Private School Principal Demographics and Qualifications: 1987-88 to 2011-12. Stats in Brief. NCES 2016-189. National Center for Education Statistics.

Education reparation: an examination of Black teacher retention

The purpose of this study was to examine the workplace factors that positively and negatively impact Black K12 teacher retention. This study utilized a mixed-method approach to examine the qualitative and quantitative data.

Hollinside, M. M. (2017). Education reparation: an examination of Black teacher retention (Doctoral dissertation).

Rethinking teacher turnover: Longitudinal measures of instability in schools

In this essay, we present a typology of teacher turnover measures, including both measures used in existing teacher turnover literature as well as new measures that we have developed. 

Holme, J. J., Jabbar, H., Germain, E., & Dinning, J. (2017. Rethinking teacher turnover: Longitudinal measures of instability in schools. Educational Researcher47(1), 62–75. 

Autonomy and school improvement: What do we know and where do we go from here?

New “autonomy initiatives” aim to increase schools’ decision-making authority as a strategy to leverage school improvement. These policies build on lessons of previous reforms such as site-based management in ways that bode well for their success. However, how are these policies actually faring in implementation? The authors addressed that question with a comprehensive research review.

Honig, M. I., & Rainey, L. R. (2012). Autonomy and school improvement: What do we know and where do we go from here? Education Policy26(3), 465–495.

Principal’s time use and school effectiveness.

This paper examines the relationship between the time principals spent on different types of activities and school outcomes including student achievement, teacher and parent assessments of the school, and teacher satisfaction.

Horng, E. L., Klasik, D., & Loeb, S. (2010). Principal's time use and school effectiveness. American journal of education116(4), 491-523.

Principal preferences and the unequal distribution of principals across schools.

In this study the authors use longitudinal data from one large school district – Miami-Dade County Public Schools, to investigate the distribution of principals across schools.

Horng, E., Kalogrides, D., Loeb, S. (2009). Principal preferences and the unequal distribution of principals across schools. Working Paper 38. Washington, DC: National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research (CALDER). Retrieved from https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/33311/1001442-Principal-Preferences-and-the-Unequal-Distribution-of-Principals-across-Schools.PDF 

You can only lead if someone follows: The role of teachers’ assessment of principal quality in principal turnover. Working Paper 69.

The purpose of this paper is to estimate the relationship between principal effectiveness (which we capture with a principal quality measure) and turnover. Specifically, we assess whether higher quality principals are more or less likely to leave their schools in New York City (NYC) as well as at the national level.

Husain, A. N., Miller, L. C., & Player, D. W. (2019). You can only lead if someone follows: The role of teachers’ assessment of principal quality in principal turnover. Working Paper 69. Charlottesville, VA: EdPolicyWorks, University of Virginia. Retrieved from https://curry.virginia.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/epw/69_Teacher_Assessed_Principal_Quality_and_Turnover.pdf

Teacher turnover and teacher shortages: An organizational analysis

This paper investigates organizational characteristics and conditions in schools that drive staffing problems and teacher turnover.

Ingersoll, R. (2001). Teacher turnover and teacher shortages: An organizational analysis. American Educational Research Journal, 38(3), 499-534.

Is there really a teacher shortage?

This report summarizes a series of analyses that have investigated the possibility that there are other factors—tied to the organizational characteristics and conditions of schools—that are behind school staffing problems.

Ingersoll, R. (2003). Is there really a teacher shortage? Philadelphia, PA: Consortium for Policy Research in Education, University of Pennsylvania.

Why Schools Have Difficulty Staffing Their Classrooms with Qualified Teachers

This is taken from the testimony of Richard Ingersoll in front the Pennsylvania legislature on the issues of school turnover.

Ingersoll, R. M. (2013). Why Schools Have Difficulty Staffing Their Classrooms with Qualified Teachers. Retrieved October 3, 2014

A quarter century of changes in the elementary and secondary teaching force: From 1987 to 2012

This report utilizes the nationally representative Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) to examine changes in the elementary and secondary teaching force in the United States over the quarter century from 1987–88 to 2011–12.

Ingersoll, R. M. (2017). A Quarter Century of Changes in the Elementary and Secondary Teaching Force: From 1987 to 2012-Statistical Analysis Report.

The magnitude, destinations, and determinants of mathematics and science teacher turnover

This study examines the magnitude, destinations, and determinants of the departures of mathematics and science teachers from public schools.

Ingersoll, R. M., & May, H. (2012). The magnitude, destinations, and determinants of mathematics and science teacher turnover. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 34(4), 435-464.

The impact of induction and mentoring programs for beginning teachers: A critical review of the research

This review critically examines 15 empirical studies, conducted since the mid1980s, on the effects of support, guidance, and orientation programs—collectively known as induction—for beginning teachers.

Ingersoll, R. M., & Strong, M. (2011). The impact of induction and mentoring programs for beginning teachers: A critical review of the research. Review of educational research81(2), 201-233.

Seven trends: The transformation of the teaching force—updated October 2018

This report summarizes the results of an exploratory research project that investigated what trends and changes have, or have not, occurred in the teaching force over the past three decades.

Ingersoll, R. M., Merrill, E., Stuckey, D., & Collins, G. (2018). Seven Trends: The Transformation of the Teaching Force–Updated October 2018.

Minority teacher recruitment, employment, and retention: 1987 to 2013.

This brief summarizes the results from a study of the recruitment, employment, and retention of minority k-12 teachers. The study examines the extent and sources of the minority teacher shortage—the low proportion of minority teachers in comparison to the increasing numbers of minority students in the school system.

Ingersoll, R., & May, H. (2016). Minority teacher recruitment, employment and retention: 1987 to 2013. Learning Policy Institute, Stanford, CA.

Is the supply of mathematics and science teachers sufficient?

This study seeks to empirically ground the debate over mathematics/science teacher shortages, and evaluate the extent to which there is, or is not, a sufficient supply of teachers in these fields.

Ingersoll, R., & Perda, D. A. (2010). Is the supply of mathematics and science teachers sufficient? American Educational Research Journal, 43(3), 563–594.

What do test scores miss? The importance of teacher effects on non-test score outcomes

Teachers affect a variety of student outcomes through their influence on both cognitive and noncognitive skills. The author proxy for students’ noncognitive skill using non–test score behaviors. These behaviors include absences, suspensions, course grades, and grade repetition in ninth grade.

Jackson, C. K. (2018). What do test scores miss? The importance of teacher effects on non-test score outcomes. Journal of Political Economy126(5), 2072–2107.

The Irreplaceables: Understanding the Real Retention Crisis in America's Urban Schools

To identify and better understand the experience of these teachers, the authors started by studying 90,000 teachers across four large, geographically diverse urban school districts

Jacob, A., Vidyarthi, E., & Carroll, K. (2012). The Irreplaceables: Understanding the Real Retention Crisis in America's Urban Schools. TNTP.

Exploring the causal impact of the McREL Balanced Leadership Program on leadership, principal efficacy, instructional climate, educator turnover, and student achievement.

This study uses a randomized design to assess the impact of the Balanced Leadership program on principal leadership, instructional climate, principal efficacy, staff turnover, and student achievement in a sample of rural northern Michigan schools.

Jacob, R., Goddard, R., Kim, M., Miller, R., & Goddard, Y. (2015). Exploring the causal impact of the McREL Balanced Leadership Program on leadership, principal efficacy, instructional climate, educator turnover, and student achievement. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis37(3), 314–332. Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.1003.6694&rep=rep1&type=pdf

Pursuing a “sense of success”: New teachers explain their career decisions.

This article reports on a longitudinal study designed to explore these questions. In 1999, researchers from The Project on the Next Generation of Teachers selected and interviewed a diverse group of 50 new teachers in the Massachusetts public schools.

Johnson, S. M., & Birkeland, S. E. (2003). Pursuing a “sense of success”: New teachers explain their career decisions. American Educational Research Journal40(3), 581-617.

Who stays in teaching and why: A review of the literature on teacher retention

The Literature Review considers research that provides insight into problems of teacher shortage and turnover, offers a comprehensive explanation for why some able teachers leave the classroom prematurely, and suggests current strategies for increasing retention rates.

Johnson, S. M., Berg, J. H., & Donaldson, M. L. (2005). Who stays in teaching and why?: A review of the literature on teacher retention. Project on the Next Generation of Teachers, Harvard Graduate School of Education.

How context matters in high-need schools: The effects of teachers’ working conditions on their professional satisfaction and their students’ achievement.

the authors build on this body of work by further examining how working conditions predict both teachers‘ job satisfaction and their career plans.

Johnson, S. M., Kraft, M. A., & Papay, J. P. (2012). How context matters in high-need schools: The effects of teachers’ working conditions on their professional satisfaction and their students’ achievement. Teachers College Record114(10), 1-39.

What does certification tell us about teacher effectiveness? Evidence from New York City

The authors use six years of data on student test performance to evaluate the effectiveness of certified, uncertified, and alternatively certified teachers in the New York City public schools. This study also evaluates turnover among teachers with different certification status and the impact on student achievement of hiring teachers with predictably high turnover

Kane, T. J., Rockoff, J. E., & Staiger, D. O. (2008). What does certification tell us about teacher effectiveness? Evidence from New York City. Economics of Education review27(6), 615-631.

Teacher retention: Evidence to inform policy

This policy brief summarizes the available evidence on the policy relevant factors that affect teacher turnover.

Katz, V. (2018). Teacher retention: Evidence to inform policy. Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia. Retrieved from https://curry.virginia.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/epw/Teacher%20Retention%20Policy%20Brief.pdf

Does teaching experience increase teacher effectiveness? A review of the research

The goal of this paper is to provide researchers and policymakers with a comprehensive and timely review of this body of work.

Kini, T., & Podolsky, A. (2016). Does teaching experience increase teacher effectiveness? A review of the research. Palo Alto, CA: Learning Policy Institute. Retrieved from https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/sites/default/files/product-files/Teaching_Experience_Report_June_2016.pdf

Teacher layoffs, teacher quality, and student achievement: Evidence from a discretionary layoff policy.

This study present some of first evidence on the implementation and subsequent effect of discretionary layoff policies, by studying the 18th largest public school district in the nation, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS).

Kraft, M. A. (2013). Teacher Layoffs, Teacher Quality and Student Achievement: The Implementation and Consequences of a Discretionary Reduction-in-Force Policy. Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness.

School organizational contexts, teacher turnover, and student achievement: Evidence from panel data

This study is among the first to address the empirical limitations of prior studies on organizational contexts by leveraging one of the largest survey administration efforts ever conducted in the United States outside of the decennial population census.

Kraft, M. A., Marinell, W. H., & Shen-Wei Yee, D. (2016). School organizational contexts, teacher turnover, and student achievement: Evidence from panel data. American Educational Research Journal53(5), 1411-1449.

Teachers’ perceptions of their working conditions: How predictive of planned and actual teacher movement?

This quantitative study examines the relationship between teachers’ perceptions of their working conditions and their intended and actual departures from schools.

Ladd, H. F. (2011). Teachers’ perceptions of their working conditions: How predictive of planned and actual teacher movement?. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis33(2), 235-261.

Pulling back the curtain: Revealing the cumulative importance of high-performing,

This study examines the relationship between two dominant measures of teacher quality, teacher qualification and teacher effectiveness (measured by value-added modeling), in terms of their influence on students’ short-term academic growth and long-term educational success (measured by bachelor’s degree attainment).

Lee, S. W. (2018). Pulling back the curtain: Revealing the cumulative importance of high-performing, highly qualified teachers on students’ educational outcome. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis40(3), 359–381.

Learning from Leadership Project: Review of research How leadership influences student learning

This report examines the evidence on: How leadership matters and how important those effects are in promoting the learning of all children.

Leithwood, K., Seashore Louis, K., Anderson, S., & Wahlstrom, K. (2004). Review of research: How leadership influences student learning.

Understanding and addressing principal turnover: A review of the research.

To understand why excessive turnover exists, researchers have investigated the relationship between principal turnover and various features of the principalship; which principals are most likely to leave; and which schools are more vulnerable to principal turnover

Levin, S., & Bradley, K. (2019). Understanding and addressing principal turnover: A review of the research. Reston, VA: National Association of Secondary School Principals. Retrieved from https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/sites/default/files/product-files/NASSP_LPI_Principal_Turnover_Research_Review_REPORT.pdf

Estimating teacher turnover costs: A case study.

This study created a model and methodology to document turnover costs for the middle and high schools in the Boston Public Schools to test the degree to which it could detect differences in costs for teachers of science, and to explore the feasibility of its implementation by school personnel

Levy, A. J., Joy, L., Ellis, P., Jablonski, E., & Karelitz, T. M. (2012). Estimating teacher turnover costs: A case study. Journal of Education Finance38(2), 102–129.

Leadership coaching in an induction program for novice principals: A 3-year study

This article presents results from a study of leadership coaches who worked with novice principals in a university-based induction program for a 3-year period.

Lochmiller, C. R. (2014). Leadership coaching in an induction program for novice principals: A 3-year study. Journal of Research on Leadership Education9(1), 59–84.

Retention, attrition, and mobility among teachers and administrators in West Virginia

This report provides descriptive information about retention, attrition, and mobility among teachers and administrators that can be used to inform policy and program decisionmaking in West Virginia.

Lochmiller, C. R., Adachi, E., Chesnut, C. E., & Johnson, J. (2016). Retention, attrition, and mobility among teachers and administrators in West Virginia (REL 2016-161). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Regional Educational Laboratory Appalachia, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED568148.pdf

 

How teaching conditions predict teacher turnover in California schools.

Using California teacher survey data linked to district data on salaries and staffing patterns, this study examines a range of school conditions as well as demographic factors and finds that high levels of school turnover are strongly affected by poor working conditions and low salaries, as well as by student characteristics. 

Loeb, S., & Luczak, L. D. H. (2013). How Teaching Conditions Predict: Teacher Turnover in California Schools. In Rendering School Resources More Effective (pp. 48-99). Routledge.

Effective schools: Teacher hiring, assignment, development, and retention

In this paper, the authors use value-added methods to examine the relationship between a school’s effectiveness and the recruitment, assignment, development and retention of its teachers.

Loeb, S., Béteille, T., & Kalogrides, D. (2012). Effective schools: Teacher hiring, assignment, development, and retention. Education Finance and Policy7(3), 269–304.

Principal Preferences and the Uneven Distribution of Principals Across Schools

The authors use longitudinal data from one large school district to investigate the distribution of principals across schools. They find that schools serving many low-income, non-White, and low-achieving students have principals who have less experience and less education and who attended less selective colleges. This distribution of principals is partially driven by the initial match of first-time principals to schools, and it is exacerbated by systematic attrition and transfer away from these schools.

Loeb, S., Kalogrides, D., & Horng, E. L. (2010). Principal preferences and the uneven distribution of principals across schools. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 32(2), 205-229.

Who stays and who leaves? Findings from a three-part study of teacher turnover in NYC middle schools

This research summary focuses on aspects of the study’s results that are likely to be most useful for policymakers and school leaders as they strive to maintain and manage an effective teacher workforce.

Marinell, W. H., & Coca, V. M. (2013). " Who Stays and Who Leaves?" Findings from a Three-Part Study of Teacher Turnover in NYC Middle Schools. Online Submission.

Investing in leadership: The district’s role in managing principal turnover.

This article presents the results of research into the impact of principal turnover on schools, and the ability of schools to mitigate the negative effects of frequent turnover by distributing leadership in the schools. 

Mascall, B., & Leithwood, K. (2010). Investing in leadership: The district’s role in managing principal turnover. Leadership and Policy in Schools9(4), 367–383.

The supply of and demand for special education teachers: A review of research regarding the chronic shortage of special education teachers

This article provides an analysis of factors influencing the supply of and demand for special education teachers

McLeskey, J., Tyler, N. C., & Saunders Flippin, S. (2004). The supply of and demand for special education teachers: A review of research regarding the chronic shortage of special education teachers. The Journal of Special Education38(1), 5-21.

A new approach to the cost of teacher turnover.

This research seeks to provide policy makers with some hard information on the costs of teacher turnover. The goal is to develop an average dollar cost per vacancy, which could also be converted to a percent of payroll, in order to compare to the rules of thumb mentioned
above.

Milanowski, A. T., & Odden, A. R. (2007). A new approach to the cost of teacher turnover. Working Paper 13. Seattle, WA: Center on Reinventing Public Education, University of Washington. Retrieved from https://www.crpe.org/sites/default/files/wp_sfrp13_milanowskiodden_aug08_0.pdf

Principal Turnover, Student Achievement and Teacher Retention

This study uses twelve years of administrative data from North Carolina to examine the impact of school principals on school quality. The study finds that principal departures are followed by a decrease in a school’s performance.

Miller, A. (2009). Principal turnover, student achievement and teacher retention. Unpublished manuscript, Princeton University.

Principals’ working conditions, job stress, and turnover behaviors under NCLB accountability pressure.

This study investigates the effect of NCLB sanctions on principals’ working conditions, job stress, and turnover behaviors using a nationally representative sample of principals and detailed school-level assessment/AYP data systematically collected from each state education agency.

Mitani, H. (2018). Principals’ working conditions, job stress, and turnover behaviors under NCLB accountability pressure. Educational Administration Quarterly, 54(5), 822-862.

Recruiting and Retaining High-Quality Teachers in Rural Areas

In examining recruitment and retention of teachers in rural areas, David Monk begins by noting the numerous possible characteristics of rural communities—small size, sparse settlement, distance from population concentrations, and an economic reliance on agricultural industries that are increasingly using seasonal and immigrant workers to minimize labor costs.

Monk, D. H. (2007). Recruiting and retaining high-quality teachers in rural areas. Future of Children17(1), 155–174.

Do charter schools alleviate the negative effect of teacher

Using data on charter and public school districts in Texas, the authors test the hypothesis that the labor practices in charter schools, in particular, their ability to easily dismiss poorly performing teachers, diminishes the negative effect of teacher turnover on student achievement and graduation rates in comparison to public schools. 

Naslund, K., & Ponomariov, B. (2019). Do charter schools alleviate the negative effect of teacher turnover? Management in Education33(1), 11–20.

Creating Sustainable Teacher Career Pathways: A 21st Century Imperative

The authors offer a new vision of teacher career pathways for the 21st century that holds promise for recruiting and retaining excellent teachers who further student learning. They showcase recent initiatives at the local, state, and national level that promote teacher role differentiation and create different models of teacher staffing and teacher career continuums.

Natale, C. F., Bassett, K., Gaddis, L., & McKnight, K. (2013). Creating sustainable teacher career pathways. 2013-07-05)[2016-02-19]. http://researchnetwork. pearson, com/wp-content/uploads/CSTCP-21 CI-pk-final-WEB. pdf.

Principal Shortage

To highlight principal shortage trends, examine school leader recruitment issues, and offer policy recommendations for improving school leader recruitment efforts at the federal, state, and local level.

National Association of Secondary School Principals. (2017). Principal shortage. Reston, VA: Author. Retrieved from https://www.nassp.org/policy-advocacy-center/nassp-position-statements/principal-shortage/

Professional compensation for principals.

In discussions to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and other federal initiatives such as Race to the Top and the ESEA flexibility waivers, legislators have focused on the impact educators have on improving student achievement

National Association of Secondary School Principals. (2020). Professional compensation for principals. Reston, VA: Author. Retrieved from https://www.nassp.org/policy-advocacy-center/nassp-position-statements/professional-compensation-for-principals/?SSO=true

 
Empowered educators: How high-performing systems shape teaching quality around the world

This book examines seven jurisdictions that have worked to develop comprehensive teaching policy systems: Singapore and Finland, the states of New South Wales and Victoria in Australia, the provinces of Alberta and Ontario in Canada, and the province of Shanghai in China. 

National Center on Education and the Economy. (2016). Empowered educators: How high-performing systems shape teaching quality around the world. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from http://ncee.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/RecruitmentPolicyBrief.pdf

Teacher turnover in organizational context: Staffing stability in Los Angeles charter, magnet, and regular public schools

Prior research on teacher turnover focused mostly on whether or not and who leaves. This research builds on and extends prior studies by investigating not only whether and who but also when a teacher leaves. The phenomenon of this study emphasizes the dynamic nature of teacher exit.

Newton, X., Rivero, R., Fuller, B., & Dauter, L. (2018). Teacher turnover in organizational context: Staffing stability in Los Angeles charter, magnet, and regular public schools. Teachers College Record120(3), 1–36.

Principal turnover: Upheaval and uncertainty in charter schools?

Informed by literature on labor market and school choice, this study aims to examine the dynamics of principal career movements in charter schools by comparing principal turnover rates and patterns between charter schools and traditional public schools.

Ni, Y., Sun, M., & Rorrer, A. (2015). Principal turnover: Upheaval and uncertainty in charter schools? Educational Administration Quarterly51(3), 409–437.

Collective leadership: Principals’ decision influence and the supportive or inhibiting decision influence of other stakeholders.

Using the collective leadership framework, this study examines (a) how principals perceive their own influence and that of other key stakeholders in various school decisions and (b) how principals’ perceived influences of other stakeholders are associated with their own influence.

Ni, Y., Yan, R., & Pounder, D. (2018). Collective leadership: Principals’ decision influence and the supportive or inhibiting decision influence of other stakeholders. Educational Administration Quarterly54(2), 216–248. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318790312_Collective_Leadership_Principals%27_Decision_Influence_and_the_Supportive_or_Inhibiting_Decision_Influence_of_Other_Stakeholders

 

A report on principal turnover in the Chicago public schools

This report presents findings of a study conducted in the fall of 1994 by the Department of Research, Evaluation, and Planning of the Chicago Public Schools (CPS). Researchers examined demographic data on CPS principals from personnel records, analyzed results of a 1992 survey of Chicago principals, and constructed an administrative history of all schools since 1987-88

Oberman, G. L. (1996). A report on principal turnover in the Chicago public schools (ERIC No. ED410655). Chicago, IL: Chicago Public Schools Department of Research, Evaluation, and Planning.

Why are private-school teachers paid less than public-school teachers?

One explanation: The working conditions are better in private schools, so instructors are willing to take a salary cut.

Orlin, B. (2013, October 24). Why are private-school teachers paid less than public-school teachers? The Atlantic. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2013/10/why-are-private-school-teachers-paid-less-than-public-school-teachers/280829/

Why do principals change schools? A multivariate analysis of principal retention.

This study uses multivariate analysis of a large panel dataset to examine the determinants of principal retention (and, thus, the determinants of attracting a principal away from her current position)

Papa, F. C., Jr. (2007). Why do principals change schools? A multivariate analysis of principal retention. Leadership and Policy in Schools6(2), 267–290.

The challenge of teacher retention in urban schools: Evidence in variation from a cross-site analysis

Applying consistent data practices and analytical techniques to administrative data sets from 16 urban districts, the authors document substantial cross-district variation in teacher retention rates. They also explore the influence of temporary leaves of absence and cross-district, within-state movement on retention estimates.

Papay, J. P., Bacher-Hicks, A., Page, L. A., & Marinell, W. H. (2017). The challenge of teacher retention in urban schools: Evidence in variation from a cross-site analysis. Educational Researcher46(8), 434–448.

Principal stability and the rural divide.

This article examines the unique features of the rural school context and how these features are associated with the stability of principals in these schools

Pendola, A., & Fuller, E. J. (2018). Principal stability and the rural divide. Journal of Research in Rural Education34(1), 1–20.

The effect of a new teacher induction program on the new teachers reported teacher goals for excellence, mobility and retention rates

Over the past twenty years there has been a decline in the number of minority teachers entering and remaining in the teaching profession. While the overall teacher shortage is worrisome for educators and administrators, the shortage of minority teachers is one of grave concern. A lack of minority educators inside our buildings is just one consequence of minority teacher shortage.

Perry, B., & Hayes, K. (2011). The Effect of a New Teacher Induction Program on New Teachers Reported Teacher Goals for Excellence, Mobility, and Retention Rates. International journal of educational leadership preparation6(1), n1.

The influence of salary in attracting and retaining school leaders.

This article examines the salary trajectory of teachers as they move up the career ladder into leadership positions.

Pijanowski, J. C., & Brady, K. P. (2009). The influence of salary in attracting and retaining school leaders. Education and Urban Society42(1), 25–41.

The supply and demand for rural teachers.

The purpose of this paper is to summarize what we know about the current state of rural teacher labor markets by contrasting them with the same data from urban, suburban, and large and small town settings.

Player, D. (2015). The supply and demand for rural teachers. Rural Opportunities Consortium of Idaho. Retrieved from http://www.rociidaho.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/ROCI_2015_RuralTeachers_FINAL.pdf

Teacher compensation systems in the United States K–12 public school system.

This paper provides a review of the current teacher compensation system and examines the structure of teacher compensation in the U.S. K-12 public education system.

Podgursky, M., & Springer, M. (2011). Teacher compensation systems in the United States K-12 public school system. National Tax Journal64(1), 165.

An examination of the movement of educators across and within three Midwest Region states (REL 2017-185).

REL Midwest conducted a study on the mobility of teachers and administrators in public schools within and between Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. The study was supported by representatives of the state education agency in each state. This study is the first to examine educator mobility using the same methodology across these three states.

Podgursky, M., Ehlert, M., Lindsay, J., & Wan, Y. (2016). An examination of the movement of educators across and within three Midwest Region states (REL 2017-185). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Regional Education Laboratory Midwest, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED570453.pdf

The academic quality of public school teachers: an analysis of entry and exit behavior

The authors investigate how the labor market decisions of recent college graduates, new teachers, and employers affect the academic quality of the teaching workforce in public schools.

Podgursky, M., Monroe, R., & Watson, D. (2004). The academic quality of public school teachers: An analysis of entry and exit behavior. Economics of Education Review23(5), 507–518.

Solving the Teacher Shortage: How to Attract and Retain Excellent Educators

This report reviews an extensive body of research on teacher recruitment and retention, and identifies five major factors that influence a teacher’s decision to enter, remain in, or leave the teaching profession, generally, and high-need schools, specifically.

Podolsky, A., Kini, T., Bishop, J., & Darling-Hammond, L. (2016). Solving the teacher shortage: How to attract and retain excellent educators. Palo Alto, CA: Learning Policy Institute.

A review of the literature on principal turnover.

The purpose of this review is to take stock of what we have learned about the sources and consequences of principal turnover, and to identify what gaps remain.

Rangel, V. S. (2018). A review of the literature on principal turnover. Review of Educational Research88(1), 87–124. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319965164_A_Review_of_the_Literature_on_Principal_Turnover

Career paths of beginning school teachers: Results for the first through fifth waves of the 2007–08 Beginning Teacher Longitudinal Study

This report examines the career paths of beginning public school teachers and how these career paths vary by characteristics during the teachers' first year of teaching and most recent year of teaching. 

Raue, K., & Gray, L. (2015). Career Paths of Beginning Public School Teachers: Results from the First through Fifth Waves of the 2007-08 Beginning Teacher Longitudinal Study. Stats in Brief. NCES 2015-196. National Center for Education Statistics.

A teacher like me: A review of the effect of student-teacher racial/ethnic matching on teacher perceptions of students and student academic and behavioral outcomes

Underlying this research is the belief that the cultural fit between students and teachers has the potential to improve a child’s academic and nonacademic performance in school. 

Redding, C. (2019). A Teacher Like Me: A Review of the Effect of Student–Teacher Racial/Ethnic Matching on Teacher Perceptions of Students and Student Academic and Behavioral Outcomes. Review of Educational Research, 0034654319853545.

New evidence on the frequency of teacher turnover: Accounting for within-year turnover.

Teacher turnover occurs during and at the end of the school year, although documentation of within-year turnover currently rests on anecdotal evidence.

Redding, C., & Henry, G. T. (2018). New evidence on the frequency of teacher turnover: Accounting for within-year turnover. Educational Researcher47(9), 577-593.

Leaving school early: An examination of novice teachers’ within- and end-of-year turnover

This research use data from North Carolina to measure teacher turnover monthly throughout the entire year and conduct an analysis of their persistence to examine the differences in early career teacher turnover.

Redding, C., & Henry, G. T. (2019). Leaving school early: An examination of novice teachers’ within-and end-of-year turnover. American Educational Research Journal56(1), 204-236.

Easy in, easy out: Are alternatively certified teachers turning over at increased rates?

The authors report on descriptive evidence of growing differences in the characteristics of alternatively and traditionally certified teachers and the schools in which they teach.

Redding, C., & Smith, T. M. (2016). Easy in, easy out: Are alternatively certified teachers turning over at increased rates?. American Educational Research Journal53(4), 1086-1125.

School administrators’ direct and indirect influences on middle school math teachers’ turnover.

Administrator support has been identified as a key factor in deterring teacher turnover. Yet, the specific ways school principals directly or indirectly influence teacher retention remain underexamined. The paper aims to discuss this issue. 

Redding, C., Booker, L. N., Smith, T. M., & Desimone, L. M. (2019). School administrators’ direct and indirect influences on middle school math teachers’ turnover. Journal of Educational Administration.

Teachers, schools, and academic achievement.

This paper disentangles the impact of schools and teachers in influencing achievement with special attention given to the potential problems of omitted or mismeasured variables and of student and school selection. 

Rivkin, S. G., Hanushek, E. A., & Kain, J. F. (2005). Teachers, schools, and academic achievement. Econometrica73(2), 417-458.

Stay or go? Turnover in CMO, EMO and regular charter schools.

We examine whether working conditions in different types of charter schools lead to different levels of teacher turnover. 

Roch, C. H., & Sai, N. (2018). Stay or go? Turnover in CMO, EMO and regular charter schools. The Social Science Journal55(3), 232-244.

How teacher turnover harms student achievement

This study used a version of value added modeling to evaluate the impact of teacher turnover has on student achievement.

Ronfeldt, M., Lankford, H., Loeb, S., & Wyckoff, J. (2011). How Teacher Turnover Harms Student Achievement. National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series, No. 17176. doi:10.3386/w17176

Teacher Turnover in High-Poverty Schools: What We Know and Can Do

This paper reviews evidence from six recent studies, which collectively suggest that teachers who leave high-poverty schools are not fleeing their students, but rather the poor working conditions that make it difficult for them to teach and their students to learn. They include school leadership, collegial relationships, and elements of school culture.

Simon, N. S., & Johnson, S. M. (2013). Teacher turnover in high-poverty schools: What we know and can do. Teachers College Record, 117, 1-36

What are the effects of induction and mentoring on beginning teacher turnover?

This study examines whether such programs - collectively known as induction - have a positive effect on the retention of beginning teachers.

Smith, T. M., & Ingersoll, R. M. (2004). What are the effects of induction and mentoring on beginning teacher turnover?. American educational research journal41(3), 681-714.

The Hidden Cost of Teacher Turnover

This study asks how schools respond to spells of high teacher turnover, and assesses organizational and human capital losses in terms of the changing composition of the teacher pool. 

Sorensen, L. C., & Ladd, H. F. (2018). The hidden costs of teacher turnover. Working Paper No. 203-0918-1. Washington, DC: National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research (CALDER). Retrieved from https://caldercenter.org/publications/hidden-costs-teacher-turnover

Explaining the gap in charter and traditional public school teacher turnover rates

This study uses national survey data to examine why charter school teachers are more likely to turnover than their traditional public school counterparts.

Stuit, D. A., & Smith, T. M. (2012). Explaining the gap in charter and traditional public school teacher turnover rates. Economics of Education Review31(2), 268-279.

Work environments and labor markets: Explaining principal turnover gap between charter schools and traditional public schools.

To contribute to the limited empirical literature on the principal labor market, this study explores the reasons for the disparity of turnover rates between charter school principals and their counterparts in traditional public schools (TPSs).

Sun, M., & Ni, Y. (2016). Work environments and labor markets: Explaining principal turnover gap between charter schools and traditional public schools. Educational Administration Quarterly52(1), 144–183.

6 districts invested in principals and saw dramatic gains. Dozens more will try to do the same.

The Wallace Foundation, which invested tens of millions of dollars into strengthening the ranks of school leaders in those districts, is trying to answer that question. Over the next several months, the foundation will take the knowledge and lessons learned in its “principal pipeline” districts to 90 more school systems in 31 states.

Superville, D. R. (2020). 6 districts invested in principals and saw dramatic gains. Dozens more will try to do the same. Retrieved from https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2020/02/10/6-districts-invested-in-principals-and-saw.html?cmp=eml-enl-eu-news2&M=59040207&U=553060&UUID=9bc4fda5086bf85fdf82fb5f1a2a674c

A coming crisis in teaching? Teacher supply, demand, and shortages in the US

Recent media reports of teacher shortages across the country are confirmed by the analysis of several national datasets reported in this brief. Shortages are particularly severe in special education, mathematics, science, and bilingual/English learner education, and in locations with lower wages and poorer working conditions. Shortages are projected to grow based on declines in teacher education enrollments, coupled with student enrollment growth, efforts to reduce pupil-teacher ratios, and ongoing high attrition rates.

Sutcher, L., Darling-Hammond, L., & Carver-Thomas, D. (2016). A coming crisis in teaching? Teacher supply, demand, and shortages in the US. Washington, DC: Learning Policy Institute. Available at: https://learningpolicyinstitute. org/sites/default/files/product-files/A_Coming_Crisis_in_Teaching_REPORT. pdf.

Understanding Teacher Shortages: An Analysis of Teacher Supply and Demand in the United States
This paper reviews the sources of and potential solutions to teacher shortages in the United States. It describes the sources of current and projected increases in teacher demand relative to enrollments, shift in pupil-teacher rations, and attrition. 

Sutcher, L., Darling-Hammond, L., & Carver-Thomas, D. (2019). Understanding Teacher Shortages: An Analysis of Teacher Supply and Demand in the United States. education policy analysis archives27(35).

Supporting principals’ learning: Key features of effective programs.

Effective preparation and professional development programs build the capacity of principals to lead across their full range of responsibilities, fostering school environments where adults and students thrive. Research points to several key building blocks of strong preparation and development programs. 

Sutcher, L., Podolsky, A., & Espinoza, D. (2017). Supporting principals’ learning: Key features of effective programs. Retrieved from https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/sites/default/files/product-files/Supporting_Principals_Learning_REPORT.pdf

Building special education teacher capacity in rural schools: Impact of a Grow Your Own program

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which a grow your own (GYO) program equitably increased special education teacher capacity in one Southern state's rural and non-rural school districts.

Sutton, J. P., Bausmith, S. C., O'connor, D. M., Pae, H. A., & Payne, J. R. (2014). Building special education teacher capacity in rural schools: Impact of a grow your own program. Rural Special Education Quarterly33(4), 14-23.

A comprehensive model for estimating the impact of teacher turnover.

The purpose of this study was to develop a model that may be used to estimate the financial costs of teacher turnover in urban school districts. 

Synar, E., & Maiden, J. (2012). A comprehensive model for estimating the financial impact of teacher turnover. Journal of Education Finance, 130-144.

Characteristics of Public Elementary and Secondary School Principals in the United States: Results From the 2015-16 National Teacher and Principal Survey First Look

The National Teacher and Principal Survey is completed every four years soliciting descriptive information from principals and teachers across the 50 states. A few highlights include: Sixty percent of school principals have been at their schools for three years or less. 

Taie, S., and Goldring, R. (2017). Characteristics of Public Elementary and Secondary School Principals in the United States: Results From the 201516 National Teacher and Principal Survey First Look (NCES 2017-070). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved [date] from https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2017070.

Characteristics of Public Elementary and Secondary School Principals in the United States: Results From the 2015-16 National Teacher and Principal Survey First Look

The National Teacher and Principal Survey is completed every four years soliciting descriptive information from principals and teachers across the 50 states. A few highlights include: Sixty percent of school principals have been at their schools for three years or less. 

Taie, S., and Goldring, R. (2017). Characteristics of Public Elementary and Secondary School Principals in the United States: Results From the 201516 National Teacher and Principal Survey First Look (NCES 2017-070). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved [date] from https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2017070.

Teacher Attrition and Mobility: Results From the 2012-13 Teacher Follow-up Survey (2013)

This report from the United States Department of Education provides national data on teacher retention.

Teacher Attrition and Mobility: Results From the 2012-13 Teacher Follow-up Survey (2013). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Educational Statistics, Institute of Education Science. Retrieved November 10, 2014 from http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2014/2014077.pdf

Understanding school principal attrition and mobility through hierarchical generalized linear modeling

Despite a growing body of turnover literature, much remains unknown about the factors predicting career transitional behaviors of school principals. To bridge this gap, we examined variations in principal, school, and district characteristics influencing administrator leaver and mover behaviors, using Hierarchical Generalized Linear Modeling. 

Tekleselassie, A. A., & Choi, J. (2019). Understanding school principal attrition and mobility through hierarchical generalized linear modeling. Educational Policy, 1–47.

Career mobility and departure intentions among school principals in the United States: Incentives and disincentives

Despite concerns about turnover among administrators, conditions that influence career longevity intentions of school principals are less known. To address this gap in the literature, we conducted a three-level Generalized Multilevel Model to estimate variations in school and district characteristics impacting principals’ career departure and mobility intentions, based on data from the School and Staffing Survey.

Tekleselassie, A. A., & Villarreal, P., III. (2011). Career mobility and departure intentions among school principals in the United States: Incentives and disincentives. Leadership and Policy in Schools10(3), 251–293. Retrieved from https://education.ufl.edu/villarreal/files/2011/10/Leadership-and-Policy-Villarreal.pdf

The cost of replacing South Carolina high school principals.

The purpose of this study is to examine the costs of replacing high school principals. 

Tran, H., McCormick, J., & Nguyen, T. T. (2018). The cost of replacing South Carolina high school principals. Management in Education32(3), 109–118. 

Promoting special educator teacher retention: A critical review of the literature

This article is a critical review of the literature on special education teacher attrition and retention. The research focused on journal articles from 2004 to present.

Vittek, J. E. (2015). Promoting special educator teacher retention: A critical review of the literature. Sage Open5(2), 2158244015589994.

The High Cost of Leaving: An Analysis of the Cost of Teacher Turnover

The cost of teacher turnover to schools and school districts has only recently been studied. This research reveals that when high-quality teachers leave the classroom, the effect on both student performance and school and district fiscal operations is significant and deleterious.

Watlington, E., Shockley, R., Guglielmino, P., & Felsher, R. (2010). The cost of leaving: An analysis of the cost of teacher turnover. Journal of Education Finance, 36(1), 22–37.

Failing Teachers?

This book describes the research undertaken during the Teaching Competence Project, a two-year research project funded by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation. There were five interlinked studies in the research.

Wragg, E. C., Chamberlin, R. P., & Haynes, G. S. (2005). Failing teachers?. Routledge.

Filling the void: A grounded theory approach to addressing teacher recruitment and retention in urban schools

This research addresses the problem of teacher shortages in urban, high-needs schools.

Wronowski, M. L. (2018). Filling the void: A grounded theory approach to addressing teacher recruitment and retention in urban schools. Education and Urban Society50(6), 548-574.

The influence of working conditions on principal turnover in K-12 public schools.

During the past two decades, principal turnover issues have raised nationwide concerns about leadership stability and student performance. With national data from National Center for Education Statistics, this study examines how principal working conditions influence the probability of different types of principal turnover (mover, promoted, demoted, leaver, and retired).

Yan, R. (2020). The influence of working conditions on principal turnover in K-12 public schools. Educational Administration Quarterly56(1), 89–122.

Who leaves, Teacher attrition and student achievement
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between student achievement and teacher attrition using value-added modeling for teachers in New York City.
Boyd, D., Lankford, H., Loeb, S., & Wyckoff, J. (2007). Who leaves, Teacher attrition and student achievement (Research Report). Albany, NY: Teacher Policy Research.
Estimating the Effect of Leaders on Public Sector Productivity: The Case of School Principals
This paper looks at key elements effective school principal leadership and the impact of principal mobility on student achievement.
Branch, G. F., Hanushek, E. A., & Rivkin, S. G. (2012). Estimating the effect of leaders on public sector productivity: The case of school principals (No. w17803). National Bureau of Economic Research.
Addressing Challenges in Evaluating School Principal Improvement Efforts
This report describes the challenges states, districts, and other entities encounter as they evaluate school reform.
Burkhauser, S., Pierson, A., Gates, S., and Hamilton, L. (2012) Assessing the Relationship Between Administrator Preparation Programs and Job Performance. Rand Corporation.
The Revolving Door of the Principalship
This study examines the importance of selection and retention of quality principals for improving and sustaining school success. Data from Texas educational employment files provides a basis for inquiry into this problem.
Fuller, E., Terry Orr, M., & Young, M. D. (2008). The Revolving Door of the Principalship. Implications from UCEA. University Council for Educational Administration. Retrieved December 9, 2014 from http://www.ucea. org/storage/implications/ ImplicationsMar2008.pdf
Are public schools really losing their “best”?: Assessing the career transitions of teachers and their implication for the quality of the teacher workforce
The purpose of this paper is to examine attrition and mobility of teachers using teacher value-added measures for early-career teachers in North Carolina public schools from 1996 to 2002. The results suggest the best teachers remain in teaching and stay in high socioeconomic Status and high performing schools.
Goldhaber, D., Gross, B., & Player, D. (2007). Are public schools really losing their “best”?: Assessing the career transitions of teachers and their implication for the quality of the teacher workforce. Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research (Working Paper 12). Washington, D.C. Urban Institute. H
Do Local-Level Principal Preparation Programs Prevent Principal Turnover
This study applies multinomial logistic regression to a sample of 5,000 public school principals from the 2008-2009 National Schools and Staffing Principal Follow-up Survey. It examines the impact of school- or district-level principal pre-service training programs on three possible principal turnover outcomes: principals staying in the same school, moving to become principal of another school, or leaving the principal profession.
McKibben, S. (2013) Do Local-Level Principal Preparation Programs Prevent Principal Turnover?. The Public Purpose, Vol. XI
Administrative Climate And Novices' Intent To Remain Teaching
This study uses survey data from new elementary and middle school teachers across 11 districts to examine the association between novices' perceptions of the administrative climate and their desire to remain teaching within their schools.
Pogodzinski, B., Youngs, P., Frank, K. A., & Belman, D. (2012). Administrative climate and novices' intent to remain teaching. The Elementary School Journal, 113(2), 252-275.
Churn: The High Cost of Principal Turnover
This study looks at the significant costs associated with school principal turnover. CHURN reveals the multitude of impacts on schools and school systems that include teachers and students. The study highlights the cost implications of a typical system associated with ineffective principals and the turmoil that results.
School Leaders Network. (2014). Churn: The High Cost of Principal Turnover. Retrieved March 4, 2015 from http://connectleadsucceed.org/sites/default/files/principal_turnover_cost.pdf

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