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This study uses the most recent national data from the National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), 2011-12 and its longitudinal supplement, the Teacher Follow-up Survey (TFS), 2012-13 to investigate attrition trends among Black teachers, and Black female teachers in particular, to inform a qualitative analysis of proposed and adopted teacher retention policy interventions. This study asks: Why do Black teachers report leaving, and what would bring them back to the classroom? What working conditions are associated with Black teacher attrition? What policy interventions can meet the needs of Black teachers in having successful and supported teaching experiences? How have these interventions been successful, and what are the considerations for applying them more broadly?
As a conceptual approach, the descriptive analyses for this study are based on previous literature about reasons for teacher attrition and retention. Specifically, previous studies have identified compensation, school working conditions, school demographics, teaching experience, and the quality of teacher preparation as key drivers of teacher attrition, generally. We use descriptive statistics and differences of means test results to identify differences in turnover rates and key characteristics, informed by the literature, of Black and non-Black teachers. Among these, we examine turnover rates by the proportion of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, the proportion of students of color, class size, main teaching subject, teacher certification pathway, a working conditions construct, and district salaries.
We find that Black representation in the teaching force has declined noticeably since1990, when the proportion was 8.3%. Since then, about 26,000 Black teachers have disappeared from the nation’s public schools—even as the overall teaching workforce has increased by 134,000. Further, Black teachers and Black female teachers have turnover rates that are significantly higher than those of other teachers and there are several substantive differences in their preparation, school characteristics, and reasons for leaving. Black teachers and Black female teachers are more likely to leave teaching or move schools involuntarily than non-Black teachers. Black women are more likely than other teachers to say that dissatisfaction with compensation impacted their turnover decisions. Black women who are new to teaching are more likely than other new teachers to have no student teaching experience and to have entered teaching through an alternative certification program. Finally, Black teachers, and Black female teachers, were more likely to cite dissatisfaction with various working conditions, such as lack of resources, lack of classroom autonomy, and lack of administrative support.
Black teachers, and Black female teachers in particular, have historically occupied an important space in the teacher workforce as the primary educators of Black students, and policy interventions designed to increase teacher retention can help increase the Black teacher population. However, previous research on teacher attrition and retention has not focused on the conditions that contribute to high turnover rates for Black teachers and Black female teachers specifically. We describe policy interventions that target these conditions, such as teacher residencies, loan forgiveness, mentoring and induction, and principal training programs. We include in that discussion the relative benefits and challenges of each and implications for policymaking.