This report presents the Texas edition of the National Council on Teacher Quality's 2008 "State Teacher Policy Yearbook." The 2008 "Yearbook" focuses on how state policies impact the retention of effective new teachers. This policy evaluation is broken down into three areas that encompass 15 goals. Broadly, these goals examine…

For five years running, the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) has tracked states' teacher policies, preparing a detailed and thorough compendium of teacher policy in the United States on topics related to teacher preparation, licensure, evaluation, career advancement, tenure, compensation, pensions and dismissal. The "2011 State…

National statistics show a rise in the number of beginning teachers undergoing formal induction in their first year of teaching. This report discusses the effectiveness of induction programs and resulting outcomes for beginning teacher retention, beginning teacher effectiveness, and mentor participation. The various components of induction…

Experienced teachers are, on average, more effective at raising student performance than those in their early years of teaching. This gives rise to the concern that too many teachers leave the profession after less than a full career and that too many leave troubled inner-city schools for suburban ones. Until now, the roots of these problems have…

This report presents findings from the second-year evaluation of the Governor's Educator Excellence Grant (GEEG) program. The GEEG program was federally- and state-funded and provided three-year grants to schools to design and implement performance pay plans from the 2005-06 to 2007-08 school years. GEEG was implemented in 99 high poverty, high…

Texas small schools have promising programs, innovative practices, and pressing problems. They utilize mainstreaming and provide special materials for the gifted and talented. Problems are primarily in the areas of hiring and retaining teachers, financing programs, and energy costs. (CM)

This report presents analyses of the retention, mobility, and attrition of the Texas teaching force in the 1992-93 school year by teacher characteristics and school conditions. The characteristics of teachers who stay in the teaching profession and those who leave are examined by gender, age, ethnicity, years of teaching experience, salary, degree…

This study investigated problematic aspects of teaching that influenced beginning teachers' decisions to continue teaching or leave the profession. Participants were new teachers with 3 or less years of experience from 25 south Texas districts. Surveys were mailed to each campus for distribution. The survey instrument asked teachers about…

The purpose of this study is to describe the level of administrator support perceived by special education teachers in South Texas. The literature on teacher retention indicates that "lack of administrative support" as an important reason for leaving the profession. This study examined the factors related to administrator support…

The Science and Mathematics Alliance for Recruiting and Retaining Teachers (SMARRT) is a collaborative partnership pursuing aggressive strategies to recruit high quality minority teachers to teach in high-need schools in urban school districts. This partnership is dedicated to recruiting, preparing, and retaining high quality teachers with strong…

Research reveals that teachers' working conditions are more likely to determine whether they stay at a school--or even in the profession--than are their salaries. Results suggest that policymakers ought to consider selective pay increases, preferably keyed to quality, for work in inner-city schools, together with efforts to improve the working…

In response to education reform mandates, rewards and incentives such as career ladder and master teacher programs are being designed to break lock-step salary schedules and to retain competent teachers. While these "pay-for-performance" plans seem acceptable to taxpayers, few realize that such approaches have already been tried and…

This report on teacher recruitment and retention in Texas identifies and analyzes programs offered by higher education institutions, school districts, regional education service centers, and other organizations that address the teacher shortage in Texas. The study was undertaken with the understanding that teacher compensation issues are pervasive…

This report presents findings from the second year of a multi-year evaluation of the Texas Educator Excellence Grant (TEEG) program and background information about the design and implementation of the District Awards for Teacher Excellence (DATE) program. The TEEG and DATE programs operating in Texas make up the largest state-funded performance…

A questionnaire was designed to explore various elements of job satisfaction, multiple employment behavior, and other variables affecting the lives and work of public school teachers in Texas. A final return of 70 percent was received from a randomly selected mailing. Results revealed that one in three teachers was considering leaving teaching. Of…