This paper uses data from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and employs multiple regression models to investigate the relationship between teacher salary and educational achievement in mathematics and science across 30 countries. After controlling for alternative wage opportunities and two macroeconomic factors (GDP…

Selecting a field of study is an important decision made by thousands of incoming postsecondary students each year. Numerous studies have shown that graduates from engineering, business and mathematics programs earn considerably more than their counterparts from arts and humanities. These earnings disparities may reflect differences in skills that…

This paper examines the relationship between teacher pay and students' academic achievement, using nationally representative, district-level linked data between districts' performance on standardized tests and average teacher base salary. By employing state fixed effects and multilevel mixed effects models, we find that both mathematics and…

Previous research has linked higher levels of academic preparation as measured by the ACT® to postsecondary success, such as earning higher college grades and completing a college degree in a timely manner. This ACT Data Byte extends these findings, illustrating the positive relationship between graduating from high school college and career ready…

Gender stereotypes are often viewed as one of the root causes of the gender gap in STEM. According to Eccles' model, they would indirectly influence major choices by shaping expectations of success and values attached to the viable options. However, empirical findings on the link between implicit gender-science stereotypes and college major…

Education is critical to a democratic nation and in creating a strong economy (Verstegen, 2008). The importance of education is clear across society as an important tool in creating equal opportunities for all children regardless of race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. As school accountability increases, it is critical to determine what…

This study analyzed school funding and its relationship with selected student and teacher factors of high schools in the Southeastern Region of South Carolina. The student factors included the dropout rate, class size, academic achievement, and graduation rate. Also, examined teacher factors consisted of teacher retention, teachers with advanced…

Retaining qualified teachers is critical to the long-term success of students who receive special education services. Special education teacher retention is particularly important during the middle-school years, as this time is a marked period of transition between elementary and high-school that may place increasing demands upon teachers.…

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship among selected school funding variables, percentage of low socioeconomic status students, and student achievement. Funding variables included percentage of funds a school district received from the three primary sources: local, state, and federal. Additional funding variables included per…

Card and Krueger (1992a,b) used labor market outcomes to study the productivity of school spending. Following their lead, we examine effects of post-1990 school finance reforms on students' educational attainment and labor market outcomes. Using a state-by-cohort panel design, we find that reforms increased high school completion and…

An increasing share of new teachers enter the profession through alternative certification programs. While these programs increase teacher supply in areas facing critical shortages, they also increase instability in local teacher labor markets via high teacher turnover. A fundamental question is what effect these programs have on student…

Federal incentives and requirements under the Obama administration spurred states to adopt major reforms to their teacher evaluation systems. We examine the effects of these reforms on student achievement and attainment at a national scale by exploiting their staggered implementation across states. We find precisely estimated null effects, on…

Recent efforts to attract and retain effective educators and to improve teaching practices have focused on reforming evaluation and compensation systems for teachers and principals. In 2006, Congress established the Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF), which provides grants to support performance-based compensation systems for teachers and principals in…

The Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) provides grants to support performance-based compensation systems for teachers and principals in high-need schools. The study measures the impact of pay-for-performance bonuses as part of a comprehensive compensation system within a large, multisite random assignment study design. The treatment schools were to…

This study examined the relationship between educational resources and student performance in mathematics and science on the Program for International Student Achievement (PISA). Many countries face educational inequality and achievement gaps between high performing and low performing students. The resources invested in education determine--to a…