Briefs

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.

April 26, 2016 | Loan forgiveness and service scholarships are two promising approaches to attracting and keeping teachers in the profession. This brief looks at existing research on these programs and finds that financial assistance that meaningfully offsets the cost of professional preparation can be effective at recruiting and retaining high-quality professionals into fields and communities where educators are most needed.

April 20, 2016 | When it comes to early childhood education programs, quality is critical. High-quality preschool gives children a strong start on the path that leads to college and career success. This brief summarizes the substantial body of research on programs demonstrating positive results, as well as the professional standards for early education, including identifying important elements of quality.

March 31, 2016 | The new Every Student Succeeds Act offers states flexibility to create new approaches to school accountability and to design appropriate interventions for schools in need of assistance. This brief provides an overview of four commonly used interventions that, when well implemented, have been shown to increase opportunities and improve performance, particularly for historically underserved students. It also identifies the conditions under which they have been effective.

February 29, 2016 | This brief identifies important elements of high-quality early childhood education programs as indicated by research and professional standards, with a focus on factors that contribute to meaningful teacher-child interactions. With California the home to 493,877 preschool-age children living in or near poverty, these findings hold particular interest for the Golden State, as low-income children are most likely to benefit from high-quality pre-k programs.

January 19, 2016 | After many years of teacher layoffs in California, school districts are using an influx of new k–12 funding to hire again. However, the supply of teachers has not kept pace with the increased demand. This brief and corresponding report examine shortage indicators, discuss their impact on students, analyze factors that influence teacher supply and demand in California and nationally, and recommend policies to ensure an adequate supply of fully prepared teachers where they are needed.

January 19, 2016 | Recruitment and retention challenges are once again leading to teacher shortages across the nation, especially in urban and rural school districts. This brief looks at the teacher residency model, a promising approach to addressing recruitment and retention challenges in high-needs districts and in shortage subject areas. The teacher residency model creates long-term benefits for districts, for schools, and ultimately and most importantly, for the students they serve.