We use a database of over 15,000 teacher candidates from 15 teacher education programs in Washington state to investigate the connections between specific teacher preparation experiences and the likelihood that these candidates enter and stay in the state's public teaching workforce. As has been found in prior research, candidates with…

Employing data from a stratified random survey of newly certified teachers in Texas, we compare the mathematical content preparation of traditional teacher program graduates with graduates of alternative programs. We find that graduates of traditional programs have statistically significantly higher content preparation even when taking precollege…

This article examines Teach For America's (TFA) placement strategy in Miami-Dade County Public Schools, in which large numbers of TFA corps members are placed as clusters into a targeted set of disadvantaged schools, to investigate whether the large-scale infusion of TFA corps members into these schools induced broader improvements across the…

This article extends prior research seeking to identify preparation features related to better workforce outcomes. To our knowledge, it is the first to link many dimensions of preparation to graduates' first-year observation ratings. It follows 305 preservice teachers (PSTs) who student taught in Chicago Public Schools (CPS) in 2014-2015 and were…

We analyze the placement and attrition patterns of teachers by preparation programs and document large differences in the rate at which teachers exit both their schools and the profession. These differences are robust to within-school comparisons. Moreover, assumptions about turnover and the persistence of program effects prove important for…

Student teaching has long been considered a cornerstone of teacher preparation. One dimension thought to affect student teacher learning is the kinds of schools in which these experiences occur. Drawing on extensive survey and administrative data on all teachers, students, and schools in a large, urban district, this study investigates whether…

With increasing awareness of the importance of teacher quality for student learning, education policy leaders have turned their attention to the nation's teacher training programs as a potential target for reform. One proposed strategy is to increase competition for university-based programs by encouraging new program types. This study examines…

Because of the enormity of challenges that confront teachers in urban schools, teachers should be finely trained in an intensive educational program. (JD)

Problems caused by teacher surpluses and shortages, particularly those resulting in out-of-field teaching assignments, should be corrected. School districts, teacher education institutions, state agencies, and the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education should act to improve the situation. (PP)