Twenty-five Wisconsin school districts were located that had undertaken compensation reforms after state law drastically curtailed collective bargaining for teachers. Document reviews and interviews determined (a) the impetuses for pursuing compensation reform, (b) change process characteristics, and (c) the specific compensation reforms.…

This paper studies teacher attrition in Wisconsin following Act 10, a policy change which severely weakened teachers' unions and capped wage growth for teachers. I document a sharp increase in turnover after the Act was passed, driven almost entirely by the exit of older teachers, who faced strong incentives to retire before the end of…

ALL PROFESSIONAL TEACHING PERSONNEL AND A RANDOM SAMPLE OF CITIZENS FROM AN EASTERN WISCONSIN SUBURB AND A NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN RURAL COMMUNITY WERE SURVEYED BY AN 88 ITEM OPINION QUESTIONNAIRE TO COMPARE THE PERCEPTIONS OF TEACHERS AND CITIZENS IN REGARD TO PROBLEMS AND ISSUES OF EDUCATIONAL VIEWPOINT, THE TASK OF THE SCHOOL, AND DIFFERENTIAL…

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…

The authors of this paper document how federal policy on child care and early education led to a decline in wages and education among staff in early childhood programs. The paper analyzes labor trends for the early care and education workforce over the past 25 years--notably, an overall decrease in educational qualifications, and persistent wage…

This Wisconsin edition of the National Council on Teacher Quality's (NCTQ's) 2009 "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" is the third annual look at state policies impacting the teaching profession. It is hoped that this report will help focus attention on areas where state policymakers can make changes that will have a positive impact on…

This report presents the results of a national forum on the compensation of child care workers which sought to develop strategies to break the link between what parents pay for child care and what child care providers earn. A total of 56 policymakers, researchers, economists, and child care advocates met for 2 days to review current child care…

The practices and perceptions of Wisconsin employers regarding welfare recipients were examined. First, 500 employers outside the Milwaukee metropolitan area were interviewed by telephone. Those data were merged with data from a survey of Milwaukee-area employers, resulting in a statewide sample of about 1,250 Wisconsin employers (25%, 35%, and…