As school systems work to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, states continue to grapple with persistent teacher shortages, a lack of teachers of color in the workforce, and high turnover rates undermining recruitment efforts. Teachers' effectiveness and their likelihood of staying in teaching are strongly influenced by the quality of preparation…

Background/Context: School districts across the United States face persistent difficulties recruiting and retaining teachers (García & Weiss, 2019; Schmitt & deCourcy, 2022). Over the last decade, every state in the south has faced a growing teacher shortage, with some facing shortages in all grades and subjects (U.S. Department of…

Background: The attraction and retention of female and minorities to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) related academic careers have been a concern for many years. Today, it is still unclear what are the needs of this STEM minority population to encourage them to pursue and be retained in academic career paths. Design/Method:…

The teacher shortage throughout the United States, especially in areas considered "at-risk," has reached an alarming level. Novice teachers often decide not to return after one year of service, with the number of teachers not returning doubling at five years. One possible means of overcoming these two problems is alternative…

"Perspective" is a monthly e-newsletter presenting news and views from Achieve. This month's issue commences with a report stating how the number of states that ensure the college and career readiness of their students has increased since Achieve first started tracking progress on the college- and career-ready policy agenda five years…

High quality induction for novice teachers has reduced the attrition rates for many states. The methods of implementation, components of the induction, and quality of the induction vary from district to district. The purpose of this research was to examine the components of novice teacher induction which may have a positive impact on novice…

The 2009 "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" provided a comprehensive review of states' policies that impact the teaching profession. As a companion to last year's comprehensive state-by-state analysis, the 2010 edition provides each state with an individualized "Blueprint for Change," building off last year's "Yearbook"…

This paper inquires into the relationship between the criterion variable of teacher effectiveness and the independent variables of the score on the teacher evaluation procedure and the teacher demographic variables of race, sex, level of teacher certification, area of teacher certification, and years of teaching experience. The ultimate goal of…

An example presented from a teacher's perspective illustrates the implementation of shared governance procedures that allowed teachers to demonstrate leadership, increased confidence in the system, and enhanced awareness of the process of accomplishing change. By improving teacher-administrator communication, shared governance is seen as removing…

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…

The paper, originally given at a 1986 Ethnic and Multicultural Symposium, describes the findings of a study of Black special education teachers and the factors influential in their selection and continued participation in the profession. The study surveyed 101 Black special education teachers in 64 Mississippi school districts. Subjects were among…

This Mississippi 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 compares the average annual earnings of teachers to the average annual earnings of college graduates in full-time salaried, nonteaching positions in six states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina. This is the seventh in a series of annual analyses of wage comparability studies. In addition to…

The "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" examines what is arguably the single most powerful authority over the teaching profession: state government. This Mississippi edition of the National Council on Teacher Quality's (NCTQ's) "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" is the first of what will be an annual look at the status of state…

Secondary vocational-technical education programs in Mississippi are faced with many challenges resulting from sweeping educational reforms at the national and state levels. Schools and teachers are increasingly being held accountable for providing true learning activities to every student in the classroom. This accountability is measured through…