New Ways to Ask Old Questions: Promising Avenues of Retention Research With State Staffing Data

• In Event: Moscone Center West Roundtable Session 12
  In Roundtable Session: Using Large Data Sets and Surveys to Understand Teachers' Experiences

Abstract

In this paper we describe the use of annual state-level school staffing reports as a data source for conducting research on teacher retention. Such staffing reports include salary, demographic information, educational attainment, and state certifications, and may be combined longitudinally to investigate questions related to teacher retention with an impressive scope and level of detail. Sample data from an ongoing National Science Foundation-funded project on teacher retention is shared, and demonstrates how such data may be used to identify cohorts of first-year teachers and track their persistence and mobility, including temporary exits from the workforce and subsequent returns. This paper concludes with suggestions for future research questions that could be investigated with the aid of these data.

Authors

• Douglas B. Larkin, Montclair State University

• Suzanne Poole Patzelt, Montclair State University

• Liz Carletta, Montclair State University