For any labor market to function properly, clear information is needed to guide decision making; its absence invariably leads to less than optimal decisions and inefficiencies. While the broader labor market is riddled with imperfect information, the teacher labor market is particularly vulnerable--largely for the lack of the most basic…

The shortage of African American teachers can be traced back to the historic "Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court" decision in 1954. While recruitment initiatives have been somewhat productive, studies nonetheless reveal a "revolving door" whereby scores of teachers abandon their jobs before retirement. Attrition is the…

In this paper we analyze teacher attrition from Appalachian school districts over nearly twenty years of data. We employ a unique panel of public K-12 teachers active in Kentucky between 1986 and 2005, and discern several patterns of interest to scholars and policymakers. Inter-district mobility is rare in Kentucky, and rarer still among…

Drawing on court records, state archival information, and local school district reports, this project examined student diversity and teacher diversity over more than five decades in an urban school district established in 1974 by court mandate. This study especially focused on the impact of a ratio set by the federal court regarding the high…

This report summarizes findings from one component of the Consortium for Policy Research in Education's (CPRE) evaluation of the General Electric Foundation's (GEF) "Developing Futures"™ in Education program in Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS). As described in the CPRE proposal and research design, the purpose was to closely…

VIA QUESTIONNAIRE TO 200 SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENTS IN KENTUCKY, 2,004 TEACHERS WHO HAD RESIGNED THEIR POSITIONS DURING THE 1964-66 PERIOD WERE IDENTIFIED (7 PERCENT OF THE STATE'S FULL-TIME CERTIFIED INSTRUCTIONAL STAFF). ON THE BASIS OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE RESPONSES FROM 780 (39 PERCENT) OF THESE TEACHERS, IT WAS FOUND THAT ECONOMIC FACTORS WERE THE…

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 Teacher…