Tennessee has undertaken several wide-ranging reforms aimed at educator practice and effectiveness over the past several years, including the launch of a new teacher evaluation system, modification of teacher tenure policy, and initial implementation of Common Core State Standards. This report from the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) investigates patterns of teacher retirement in the years surrounding these policy changes. The analysis is concerned not only with the overall levels of teacher retirement in the state but also with the relative effectiveness of those who stay and leave the teacher workforce through retirement. It was found that retirement rates have risen since 2009, corresponding with a loss of an additional one percent of the teacher workforce or approximately 1,000 teachers per year. The rise in retirement has been steady since just prior to the onset of the reforms under Race to the Top, and has continued through the ensuing years. At the same time, there is evidence that current patterns of retirement are likely to strengthen the overall quality of the teacher workforce. First, among those eligible for retirement, teachers who choose to retire tend to be less effective than those that remain in the classroom. Moreover, retirement rates are becoming increasingly differentiated by teacher effectiveness, with the more effective teachers choosing to stay longer in the classroom and the less effective teachers choosing to leave at higher rates.