States have taken different approaches in addressing the need for increased compensation among teachers by spreading pay increases across multiple years, linking increases to performance, and connecting them to sweeping K-12 policy changes, such as school vouchers. The earn-as-you-learn Registered Apprenticeship model is an increasingly popular…

Do education choice programs take money from public school districts, leaving fewer resources for students who remain? The issue at the heart of this question is one of the most powerful arguments offered by skeptics and opponents of such programs. A district's total budget might expand or contract as its student population expands or contracts.…

The ongoing crisis in teacher pension funding has led states to consider various reforms in plan design to replace the traditional benefit formulas, based on years of service and final average salary (FAS). One such design is a cash balance (CB) plan, long deployed in the private sector, and increasingly considered, but rarely yet adopted, for…

Although Virginia teachers earn thousands more annually than their counterparts in states such as Mississippi and Arkansas, data show that the Virginia teacher retention percentage is among the lowest in the U.S. (North, 2021). Comparing teacher salaries to those of other occupations, the Commonwealth ranks 50th in the nation, just ahead of the…

The shortage of teachers is an immense challenge for schools in Illinois, as well as throughout the United States. Districts are changing and adapting their practices to recruit new teachers, but similar changes and efforts need to be implemented to retain the teachers currently in our schools. This research study gave a confidential survey to the…

The data presented in this report provide facts about the extent to which local, state, and national governments commit resources to public education. The level of commitment to education varies on a state-by-state basis. National Education Association (NEA) Research offers this report to its state and local affiliates as well as to researchers,…

This study uses administrative data from Oregon to estimate the extent to which base salary increases reduce teacher turnover and to investigate whether these effects are heterogeneous by teacher characteristics. Using multiple sets of fixed effects to isolate plausibly exogenous variation in salaries across experience bands within a district, we…

In 2018, West Virginia teachers staged a statewide strike which lasted almost two weeks and included schools across all 55 countywide districts. The main reported strike issues for West Virginia teachers included cuts to their healthcare coverage by the state and relatively low salaries. Prior to the strike, West Virginia teachers ranked 48th in…

This dissertation examines the school-level impacts on student achievement in the state of Pennsylvania from the economic inputs provided to students and schools. I conduct a comprehensive review of prior literature on Pennsylvania education funding, the issue of equity versus adequacy, academic spending per pupil, and teacher compensation, as…

Texas reduced new teacher preparation requirements in 2001 to allow more alternate paths to licensure. Within 5 years, this policy change resulted in more than half of the state's new teachers being alternatively licensed. Using a series of first difference models, this study examines the relationship between the increased supply of new teachers…

The occupational well-being of teachers and their job satisfaction are interconnected, both influencing teacher performance and student well-being. After several years of ongoing economic and financial crises, this cross-sectional descriptive study highlighted several factors that impact the quality of education in relation to these concepts. To…

We use data on over 14,000 teacher candidates in Washington state, merged with employment data from the state's public schools and Unemployment Insurance system, to investigate the career paths and earnings of teacher candidates in the state. Around 75% of candidates are employed in some education position in each of the 5 years after student…

Attracting and retaining teachers may be a problem in many rural school districts. According to previous research, teacher attrition is greater in rural regions due to various demographic and other factors. Retention was also cited as a key issue in these rural school districts. The number of teachers quitting their professions before they can…

Stagnating teacher salaries and the widening gap between public school teachers and similar workers have led to growing concerns that teachers will seek out additional employment--possibly impacting their instructional practice in the process. Using data from the Schools and Staffing Survey and the National Teacher and Principal Survey from…

Every student should have access to excellent, well-prepared, and well-supported educators who reflect the diversity of our nation. Research repeatedly indicates that teachers are the most important in-school factor for student success. Research also highlights the critical role of school leaders in retaining and supporting teachers to maximize…