January 18, 2010 – Pennsylvania State Education Association 
Pennsylvania Union Makes Pay Recommendations

The Pennsylvania State Education Association has released its recommendations for teacher pay systems designed to attract and retain education professionals.  “20/20 Vision for the Future” provides four recommends that are based on decades of research investigating strategies that improve educational outcomes and how compensation systems align with successful educational strategies.

A Possible Dream: Retaining California Teachers So All Students Learn
Dr. Ken Futernick
California State University, Center for Teacher Quality

In 2007, the center for Teacher Quality completed a comprehensive study of teacher retention in California's publc schools.  While levels of compensation matter, calssroom and school environments are prominent factors in increasing teacher retention rates.  The recommendations from this study include:

• Assessing teaching conditions locally and continuously
• Elevate California's student funding to (at least) adequate levels
• Resolve the bureaucratic conundrum
• Refocus school leadership on instructional quality and high-quality teaching and learning conditions
• Establish statewide standards for school teachering and learning conditions
• Assess and address specific challenges in retention of special education teachers

Executive Summary and Full Report

The Cost of Teacher Turnover in Five School Districts
National Commission on Teaching and America's Future
Gary Barnes, Ph.D., Edward Crowe, Ph.D., Benjamin Schaefer

This pilot study examines the cost of teacher turnover in five public school districts - Chicago, Milwaukee, Granville County (NC), Jemez Valley (NM), and Santa Rosa (NC).  The rate of turnover, the relationship between turnover and teacher and school characteristics, and the costs associated with recruiting, hiring, and training replacement teachers are all examined.  Key findings include:

• The costs of teacher turnover are substantial
• Teacher turnover undermines at-risk schools
• At-risk schools spend scarce dollars on teacher turnover
• At-risk schools could recoup funds by investing in teacher retention
• Turnover costs can be identified, aggregated, and analyzed
• District data systems are not designed to control the costs of turnover

Key recommendations include:

• Invest in new teacher support and development
• Target comprehensive retention strategies to at-risk schools
• Track teacher turnover and its costs annualy
• Amend NCLB to hold school leaders accountable for turnover and its costs
• Upgrade district data systems

Executive Summary

Full Report 

Teacher Turnover Cost Calculator

Leaving Schools or Leaving the Profession: Setting Illinois' Record Straight on New Teacher Attrition
Karen J. DeAngelis and Jennifer B. Presley
Illinois Education Research Council
Policy Research Report: IERC 2007-1

For some years, and in most discussions on new teacher attrition, there has been a general belief that half of all new teachers leave the profession within the first five years.  This recently released report indicates that the story is very different in Illinois.

• The results from the study indicate that only 27% of new teachers leave teaching in Illinois public schools and do not return.
• The study did find that new teachers leave their initial schools at significantly higher rates.  Overall, 44% of new entrants leave their initial school within the first two years, and 67% leave their initial school within the first five years.
• Much higher attrition rates were found in some schools, but contrary to conventional wisdom, the report indicates that high-attrition schools exist within every school type category.

Other key findings:

• The demographics of new teachers are changing.
• New teachers' commitment to the teaching profession in Illinois has improved substantitally since the 1970's and is stronger than conventional wisdom would suggest.
• Five-year attrition rates from the profession of teaching exaggerate the degree to which new teachers abandon the profession during their early years because a significant percentage return.
• The teaching profession tends to be more stable than other occupations employing people with similar educational backgrounds.

Executive Summary and Full Report 

An American Imperative: Transformng the Recruitment, Retention, and Renewal of Our Nation's Mathematics and Science Teaching Workforce
Business - Higher Education Forum

In its new report, the Business - High Education Forum calls for an aggressive campaign to increase the number of teachers in the areas of math and science.  The report contains recommendations in three areas:

• Strengthen math and science teacher recruitment
• Improve the retention of both new and experienced teachers and address the causes of teacher dissatisfaction
• Ensure that all math and science teachers participate in renewal activities that support their effectiveness in the classroom

In order to provide support for those recommendations, the report calls for specific actions.

• The creation of a national consortium to address the recommendations
• Support for new and expanded federal policies to address the recommendations
• Encourage states to address the recommendations
• Expansion of state and regional P-16 education councils

Summary and Full Report