School closures and testing disruptions during COVID-19 prevented many teacher candidates from completing certification milestones, prompting many states to waive or alter licensure requirements to prevent losses of new teachers for the 2020-21 school year. Michigan allowed in-state candidates to teach under temporary certificates before passing…

Historically, teacher evaluation systems have identified few teachers as low-performing and needing improvement. In 2012, at the beginning of a national reform movement, Chicago Public Schools implemented its overhauled evaluation system, which incorporated multiple measures of teaching practice and dismissal plans for low-rated teachers. We find…

In recent discussions on teacher shortages in Flanders, the spotlight increasingly turns to teacher education as a crucial (f)actor in addressing the issue. This study uses positioning theory to examine the spaces and possibilities offered to teacher education in the Flemish policy debate on teacher shortages. Drawing on data from seven…

The current study examines teacher deployment strategies in Cambodian preschools and identifies challenges related to the supply and deployment of teaching staff in early childhood education by assessing the adequacy, efficiency, and quality of teacher deployment. This study employs multiple approaches in data collection, including desk review of…

In December 2022, federal, state and territory education ministers released a National Teacher Workforce Action Plan to improve teacher supply and retention in the profession. While recognising the important role that Highly Accomplished and Lead Teacher (HALT) certification could play, the plan also recognised that the current approach to…

The current demand for teachers outpaces the supply of teachers. Policymakers and educational administrators have altered teacher certification rules to address the teacher shortage. One such alteration is the creation of alternative certification pathways for teachers. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of alternatively…

We explore the dynamics of competitive search in the K-12 public education sector. Using detailed panel data on teacher hiring from Boston Public Schools, we document how teacher labor supply varies substantially across vacancies even within a single district depending on position type, school characteristics, and the timing of job postings. We…

The vision of every elementary, middle, and high school in the United States is to deliver an excellent educational setting to each and every student who enters their school building. Educational research overwhelmingly demonstrates that a primary factor contributing to an "excellent educational setting" is having highly qualified and…

This dissertation consists of three papers. In each, I use applied econometric methods and economic theory to study the American teacher workforce. The first paper evaluates a novel policy to address teacher shortages by promoting experienced school staff to be teachers of record. Controlling for demographics and baseline scores, I find that…

Just as states require anyone interested in operating a motor vehicle to meet specific driver's license requirements, state policies dictate that any individual interested in teaching in a public school must first fulfill a series of requirements to obtain a teaching credential. As schools increasingly struggle to find an adequate number of…

The article explores how a dearth of job opportunities in the broader economy affects teacher quality--a key question, as teachers affect student outcomes during school and well into adulthood. It is a timely question as well, since jobseekers are likely to outnumber openings for some time. That may benefit U.S. schools and students in the long…

Despite the importance of hiring high quality teachers, less attention has been given to districts' hiring practices, particularly in terms of the timing of hiring. To date, decisions regarding when and for how long to post job vacancies have been largely subjective and anecdotal. This paper examines the relationship between the time and duration…

This research brief highlights evidence-based strategies for recruiting and hiring highly effective teachers, a critical challenge for many districts facing ongoing shortages. Research emphasizes that early and open hiring processes expand applicant pools and lead to better matches between teachers and schools, improving retention and student…

Much recent debate among policymakers and policy advocates focuses on whether states should reduce teacher licensure requirements to ease the burdens of recruiting high quality teachers to the workforce. We examine the effectiveness of individuals who entered the teacher workforce in Massachusetts during the pandemic by obtaining an emergency…

We explore the dynamics of competitive search in the K-12 public education sector. Using data from Boston Public Schools, we document how teacher labor supply varies substantially by position types, schools, and the timing of job postings. We find that early-posted positions are more likely to be filled and end up securing new hires that are…