This study investigated the relationship between teachers' job satisfaction and teachers' satisfaction with their salary, the number of years teaching, and the principals' communication about the kind of school they want. Teacher attrition in the K-12 public school system is a well-documented problem citing many motives and causes. The recruitment…

Economic downturns can cause major funding shortfalls for U.S. public schools, often forcing districts to make difficult budget cuts, including teacher layoffs. In this brief, we synthesize the empirical literature on the widespread teacher layoffs caused by the Great Recession. Studies find that teacher layoffs harmed student achievement and were…

We use data on over 14,000 teacher candidates in Washington state, merged with employment data from the state's public schools and Unemployment Insurance system, to investigate the career paths and earnings of teacher candidates in the state. Around 75% of candidates are employed in some education position in each of the 5 years after student…

Just as states require anyone interested in operating a motor vehicle to meet specific driver's license requirements, state policies dictate that any individual interested in teaching in a public school must first fulfill a series of requirements to obtain a teaching credential. As schools increasingly struggle to find an adequate number of…

Qualified teachers with disabilities are protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). To maintain legal compliance, principals must have an understanding of employment law, but often lack the training to prevent legal liability. This study reviewed litigation on discrimination claims under the ADA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation…

We describe the extent and predictors of staffing challenges faced by school districts in Washington state throughout the 2021-22 school year using data collected from job posting websites for districts representing more than 98% of students in the state. These data suggest that school districts in the state faced considerable challenges filling…

Shortage of special education teachers is a prevalent concern of school districts in different regions of the country. Attrition and lack of teacher applicants are some of the reasons for the teacher shortage. In addition, the number of teachers leaving special education is much higher compared to general education. There are various reasons why…

Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont and Education Commissioner Charlene Russell-Tucker announced the expansion of the northeastern reciprocity agreement to include certified educators throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and beyond. As of April 21, 2022, "educators in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, New…

It is necessary to have a good teacher training policy so that education and training activities can achieve their goals. Well-trained teachers will also lead to an increase in the quality of education. A well-trained teacher is expected to have a high motivation on many issues. The motivation to teach is one of the types of motivation that a…

We draw on rich longitudinal data from one of the largest teacher education programs in Texas to examine the properties of rubric-based observational evaluations of preservice teachers (PSTs) during clinical teaching. Using a variance decomposition approach, we find that little of the variation in observation scores is attributable to actual…

School districts and state education systems across the country are in the midst of an increasingly challenging fiscal environment. In many states, funding for K-12 education remains below pre-recession levels in what has been called a "punishing decade for school funding" (Leachman et al., 2017), despite efforts in recent years to…

To help states retain teachers and recruit the next generation into the profession, this brief examines teacher compensation policies in states and how adjustments could help reverse teacher shortage trends. The report looks at teacher compensation packages as a whole, including data on salary, health insurance, retirement and other benefits. It…

A comparison of population and employment projections shows the gap between teacher supply and demand growing through 2025. Alternative certification programs (ACPs) were created to increase teacher production, but research on who selects ACPs versus traditional preparation programs (TPPs) shows mixed results as does research on new teacher…

Demand for special education teachers grew continuously from the passage of Public Law 94-142 in 1975 through 2005, when this trend reversed. From 2005 to 2012, the number of special education teachers employed by U.S. schools declined by >17%. The primary purpose of this investigation was to determine factors that contributed to this decline.…

In laying out policy priorities in their 2020 State of the State addresses, governors recognized the role the public education system plays in supporting strong economies. Often citing the need to align education with the 21st century's knowledge economy, governors agreed that a high-quality education is the key to both an individual's and the…