Briefs

April 18, 2017 | The Every Student Succeeds Act provides an important opportunity for states to broaden the definition of student success to include measures of students’ social-emotional, as well as academic, development. This brief describes how states might measure and promote social and emotional learning (SEL) in their accountability and continuous improvement plans.

February 27, 2017 | Turnover accounts for 90% of the demand for new teachers, exacerbating shortages and undermining academic progress. This brief summarizes research on the important role that principals can play in reducing the steady churn of teachers and highlights actions states and districts can take to strengthen school leadership.

February 8, 2017 | In the past year, California’s teacher shortage has worsened as demand continues to grow and the supply of new teachers remains stagnant. This brief summarizes the findings of LPI’s 2017 update on the California teacher shortage and includes recommendations for state-level policies that would provide near-term solutions for strengthening the teacher pipeline.

February 8, 2017 | California schools have long struggled to find enough fully prepared special education teachers, but since the 2013-14 school year these shortages have skyrocketed. This research brief examines recent data on special education credentials and authorizations and documents an alarming rise in the number of underprepared teachers entering special education classrooms.

November 30, 2016 | Seventy-five percent of districts responding to a Fall 2016 survey reported teacher shortages, with 81% saying the problem is getting worse. This brief details the results of the survey, conducted by the Learning Policy Institute and the California School Boards Association, including information about how districts are responding to shortages.

September 15, 2016 | This brief summarizes an analysis of the scope of teacher shortages being experienced throughout the country and discusses the causes and consequences of the shortages. Shortages are particularly severe in special education, mathematics, science, and bilingual/English learner education, and in locations with lower wages and poorer working conditions. This brief also provides recommendations of local, state, and federal policies to support the recruitment and retention of a quality teacher workforce.

September 15, 2016 | Fewer young people choosing to enter the teaching profession and high attrition rates are contributing to teacher shortages. School districts throughout the country are having difficulty finding enough qualified teachers to fill open positions, especially in schools serving low-income students and students of color. This brief summarizes research on teacher recruitment and retention, identifies key factors that influence decisions to enter, stay in, or leave the profession, and offers evidence-based recommendations for policymakers.

September 15, 2016 | The nation’s population and students have grown more racially and ethnically diverse, but the teaching workforce has not experienced similar demographic shifts. This brief summarizes the results of a study of the recruitment, employment, and retention of minority k-12 teachers, examining the extent and sources of the minority teacher shortage and offering evidence-based solutions to addressing the low proportion of minority teachers in comparison to the increasing numbers of minority students in the school system.

June 29, 2016 | Read a summary of case studies of high-quality early education programs in four states: Michigan, West Virginia, Washington, and North Carolina. This analysis is based on reviews of policy documents, studies, and data in each state, as well as observations of programs and interviews with policymakers, program administrators, providers, teachers, parents, advocates, and researchers.

June 3, 2016 | This brief summarizes the key findings from a critical review of the relevant research to determine whether teachers, on average, improve in their effectiveness as they gain experience in the teaching profession. A renewed look at this research is warranted due to advances in research methods and data systems that match student data with individual teachers and have allowed researchers to more accurately answer this question.