School Choice, Teacher Labor Markets, and Access to Effective Teaching: Evidence From Michigan

• In Event: Moscone Center West Roundtable Session 7
  In Roundtable Session: School Choice and Finance

Abstract

Charter and traditional public schools (TPSs) are often described as operating within distinct labor markets, but little is known about the influence of charter competition or the restrictiveness of collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) on the teacher quality distribution. We use six years (2012-13 to 2017-18) of teacher- and student-level data from Michigan public schools and measures of local CBA restrictiveness to assess whether school-level teacher characteristics differ by sector, charter concentration, local CBA restrictiveness, or the interactions thereof. We find that charter schools and areas with less restrictive CBAs employ a lower share of teachers with traditional teacher quality indicators and more limited evidence that charter concentration predicts school-level teacher characteristics. Implications for educational equity and policy are discussed.

Authors

• Kaitlin Anderson, Lehigh University

• Joshua M. Cowen, Michigan State University

• Katharine Omenn Strunk, Michigan State University