Teacher Retention in High-Poverty Schools: Predicting Retention Using Multiple Measures of Teacher Effectiveness

• In Event: Value-Added Use: Applied Research to Inform Educational Practice and Policy

Abstract

Purpose

There is clear evidence indicating that low-performing, high poverty schools have higher rates of teacher attrition than higher-performing, lower poverty schools (Hanushek, Kain, & Rivkin, 2004). Using three years of teacher- and school-level data, researchers in this study focused on characteristics associated with teachers staying (i.e., retention). In particular, researchers examined multiple measures of teacher effectiveness data within the context of school characteristics over multiple years.

Perspectives

Teachers leave low-performing schools at an alarming rate, with teacher turnover markedly higher in schools serving high-poverty and racial minority students (Ingersoll, 2001; National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future, 2002). Because teacher turnover negatively impacts student achievement (Ronfeldt, Loeb, & Wyckoff, 2013), teacher attrition is particularly relevant to schools struggling to close the achievement gap. Whereas demographic characteristics may be related to teachers’ decisions to remain in teaching (Sass, Flores, Claeys, & Perez, 2012), these characteristics are not amenable to change. Less is known about what characteristics impact teachers’ decisions to remain and whether teachers can be positively influenced to stay.

Methods

This study moves beyond the static number of teachers remaining at low-performing schools and examines the potential for more dynamic data to predict teacher retention. Teacher observation scores were collected as based on four domains: designing and planning instruction; classroom learning environment; instruction; and teaching responsibilities (National Institute for Excellence in Teaching, 2011). Each teacher’s overall score was calculated at the end of each academic year representing a weighted average from multiple observers. Value-added student growth scores were calculated using Student Growth Percentiles (SGPs; Betebenner, 2011) with teacher-level results representing median SGPs for a given academic year. Teacher working conditions were evaluated using the North Carolina Teacher Working Conditions Survey (The Center for Teaching Quality, n.d.). Overall, this study included data for 1,225 teachers across 36 schools. Using a multi-leveling modeling technique, characteristics of teacher effectiveness (i.e., teacher observation scores and value-added student growth scores) were nested within school characteristics (i.e., working conditions) to examine whether there were predictive patterns of teacher retention over time.

Results

Teachers rated as effective based on both observations and student growth were 49% more likely to remain in school from year one to year two (Exp (B) 1.49; p < .05). Further, the association between teacher effectiveness and retention remained unchanged when working condition variables were included in the equation. However, teachers’ ratings of time available to work with students, facilities and resources, professional development opportunities, and empowerment were also significantly associated with teacher retention (p < .05). Therefore, both teacher and school characteristics appeared to be predictive of teacher retention.

Significance

This study highlights the critical nature of including both static and dynamic indicators in any educational reform research. Results indicate that it is crucial to consider multiple measures of teacher effectiveness and working conditions in efforts to improve the retention of effective teachers. Researchers and practitioners alike should consider interventions involving the identified school and teacher characteristics, as they may be malleable factors that influence effective teachers’ staying in schools long-term.

Authors

• Wendy Miedel Barnard, Arizona State University

• Sarah A. Polasky, Arizona State University