A formal induction and mentoring program is critical for supporting and developing novice teachers as they enter the K-12 classroom because it has been found to improve teacher retention rates, teaching practice, and student outcomes. Districts across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts offer induction and mentoring programming to their novice…

State and district leaders can use the GTL Center's Snapshot on Mentoring and Induction to make informed policy decisions that take into account the evidence base for mentoring and induction strategies to improve supports for and equitable access to great teachers and leaders. The snapshot describes mentoring and induction strategies, how states…

Creating a pipeline of great teachers for all schools and students in each state is a crucial policy goal. Strengthening teacher pipelines requires states to examine multiple policy areas, including certification requirements, educator evaluation, compensation and career ladders, educator environment (e.g., working conditions), and the range of…

In 1996, the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future's (NCTAF's) first groundbreaking report made five bold recommendations that changed teaching and learning across the country. "What Matters Most" challenged the nation to provide every American child with his or her educational birthright: access to competent, caring,…

There is growing consensus that the single most important factor in determining student performance is the quality of the teacher. Therefore, if the national goal of providing an equitable education to children across this nation is to be met, it is critical that efforts be concentrated on developing and retaining high-quality teachers in every…

When it comes to teacher preparation, the support provided to new teachers, and ongoing professional development for working teachers, Grades K-12 and the field of early care and education (ECE) are two very different worlds. While both worlds assume that teachers' classroom skills and behavior can be influenced at multiple points in time (through…

This paper aims to broaden the discussion about effective teacher preparation by exploring three hypotheses designed to expand the early care and education (ECE) research agenda: (1) Both the content and the method of delivery of an educational degree influence teacher practices; (2) Teachers' ability to apply knowledge and skills effectively…

Governor Easley of North Carolina has made a sustained commitment to listening to educators and reforming schools to create the working conditions necessary for student and teacher success. With three iterations of the working conditions survey and about 150,000 responses to critical questions about their workplace, analyses have been consistent…

The Strategic Management of Human Capital in Education Project was founded in 2008 with one goal: to improve student achievement dramatically in the 100 largest urban school districts. Unless teaching quality and principal leadership improve significantly, lasting education improvement is impossible. In policy terms, without "strategic management"…

This guide is intended to help the reader understand: the value of teacher induction programs designed to orient, support, train, and assess novice teachers; what makes induction programs work; the essential ingredients of an effective induction program; and how to get started improving efforts to support and assess novice teachers. Six sections…

Brian Jacob examines challenges faced by urban districts in staffing their schools with effective teachers. He emphasizes that the problem is far from uniform. Teacher shortages are more severe in certain subjects and grades than others, and differ dramatically from one school to another. The Chicago public schools, for example, regularly receive…

This paper explains the importance of new teacher induction programs to help beginning teachers successfully transition to the classroom and remain in teaching. Such programs use different activities to orient, support, train, and assess teachers within their first 3 years of teaching. Activities include orientation, mentoring, staff development,…

This document summarizes the findings of a report by the Education Commission of the States (ECS) designed to help policymakers gain a better understanding of both the nature of the teacher workforce and of promising recruitment and retention strategies. ECS reviewed 91 studies on teacher recruitment and retention in search of answers to eight…

This report presents the Connecticut 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…

This report presents the District of Columbia 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…