Exploring the Landscape of Teacher Applications

• In Event: Strategic and Targeted Solutions to School Staffing Problems

Abstract

Outside of a few studies focused on enrollment in teacher preparation programs or transitions between preparation programs and teacher workforce entry, evidence on the supply of individuals applying for teaching positions is remarkably limited. In this paper, we provide evidence on teacher applicant supply using detailed job posting and application data from over 40 school systems that use the applicant tracking platform Nimble, including a wide range of charter school organizations. We leverage this detailed data to address the following research questions:

1.  How does the seasonality of job postings, including “early” and “late” postings, vary across school districts?

The timing of hiring plays a crucial role in a district's ability to recruit effective teachers. Hiring that takes place in the summer, when school is out of session, is often information-poor, and prior research suggests that late hiring can be detrimental to student achievement (e.g., Kraft et al., 2020).

2.  How does the supply of applicants vary across subject areas, organizations, and student-body characteristics?

Outside of James et al. (2023), who study teacher hiring in a single district (Boston Public Schools), there is little direct evidence on the supply of teacher applicants for different types of teaching positions.  We expand this evidence base by looking at job application patterns across a wide range of districts.

3.  How does the supply of applicants vary over the course of the hiring season?

To better understand the implications of early versus late job postings, we analyze how the supply of applicants changes as the start of the school year approaches and whether it differs across different types of school systems and subject areas.

To our knowledge, this is the first study to look at applicant pools and the demand for teachers across a variety of school districts, and the first to compare the supply and demand for teachers in traditional public schools versus charter school organizations.

Preliminary Findings

We find substantial variation across organizations in the prevalence of early and late job postings. However, we do not observe any systematic relationship between district characteristics and the proportion of full-time equivalent (FTE) positions posted early or late. On average, 8% (SD = 7%) of FTEs are posted late—lower than estimates from earlier literature (e.g., Liu & Johnson, 2006; Papay & Kraft, 2016).

With respect to applicant supply, we find an overall ratio of 4.4 unique applicants per opening. This figure is notably lower for traditional school districts (3.3 to 1) compared to charter organizations (6.1 to 1), and varies significantly by subject area and organization. Among school districts, higher percentages of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch (FRL) are associated with lower applicant-to-opening ratios. Interestingly, within charter organizations, we find a slightly positive correlation between FRL rates and applicant supply. Furthermore, higher minimum salaries are positively associated with applicant volume: a $1,000 increase in starting salary corresponds to a 1.1-point increase in the applicant-to-opening ratio.

Author

• Dan Goldhaber, American Institutes for Research
  Presenting Author