The purpose of this quantitative, descriptive, comparative study was to investigate the effect of teacher retention on the academic assessment of 8th-grade middle school students. The South Carolina College- and Career-Ready Assessments (SC READY) examination measured students' English/Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics academic performance. This study was conducted in 62 middle schools in 13 school districts in 11 counties in southeastern South Carolina. The SC READY assessment scores were used to measure students' academic performance in ELA and math for the 2020-2021 and the 2021-2022 school years. This study determined whether there was a relationship between teacher retention and the SC READY ELA and math test scores. The results of this study were discussed in two sections, descriptive statistics and hypothesis testing. The study's findings revealed there was a positive correlation between teacher retention and SC READY ELA and math test scores. The variables were strongly correlated, r =, p < 0.05. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]