During a time when teacher turnover is high, retention is low, and some positions go unfilled for years at a time, the conditions have never been more favorable to redesign the fundamental way we staff our nation's schools. Brent W. Maddin and Randy L. Mahlerwein describe how Arizona's Mesa Public Schools and Arizona State University are working…

In this study, we analyzed public school teacher employment data from 2009 to 2015 to understand why teacher attrition is 54% higher in charter schools compared to traditional public schools. We investigated the factors associated with the differences in exit rates of teachers from traditional public and charter schools in Arizona which has a…

Schools across America are losing teachers at an alarming rate. Changing workforce demographics forecasted some level of loss decades ago. More recently, however, it has been noted declines are now reaching a crisis level across parts of the United States for a variety of reasons. Today the prevailing professional literature addressing public…

Whether referred to as "pay-for-performance" (PFP) or "merit pay," attempting to tie educators' compensation to their performance in the classroom and students' performance on high-stakes tests has been a key component of many educator compensation reform efforts in the last five years. This issue looks at PFP systems broadly…

Recognizing the vast disparities in academic achievement throughout Arizona's public schools, the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) has recently started pushing for tougher standards and demanding for more school accountability. This study analyzes the ranking system implemented by the ADE that categorizes all public schools according to…

The early childhood education workforce is critical to the economic well-being of the state of Arizona as well as the future of children. Research has consistently shown that the commitment, education, experience and continuity of teachers for young children are primary factors affecting their early learning and their development of math,…

Over the past decade, the high number of teachers leaving the profession has been a growing concern among parents, teacher educators, administrators, and policy-makers. While most argue the problem is due to a burgeoning demand and increased numbers of retirements, some researchers propose that the problem of teacher shortages is far more complex.…