Can Districts Keep Good Teachers in the Schools that Need Them Most?

53 Pages Posted: 24 Jan 2010 Last revised: 12 Apr 2013

See all articles by Cassandra M. Guarino

Cassandra M. Guarino

Michigan State University - College of Education

Abigail B. Brown

Government Accountability Office

Adam E. Wyse

Michigan State University

Date Written: November 20, 2010

Abstract

This study investigates how school demographics and their interactions with policies affect the mobility behaviors of public school teachers with various human capital characteristics. Using data from North Carolina from 1995-2006, it finds that teachers’ career stage and human capital investments dominate their decisions to leave public school teaching and school demographic characteristics play a dominant role in intra-system sorting. Schools serving at-risk children struggle to attract and retain teachers with desirable observable characteristics. Across the board school-based pay-for-performance policies have small but significant associations with mobility decisions and appear to exacerbate inequities in the distribution of teacher qualifications.

Keywords: Teacher mobility, eduction disparities, human capital, pay-for-performance

JEL Classification: I20, I28, J24, J45

Suggested Citation

Guarino, Cassandra M. and Brown, Abigail B. and Wyse, Adam E., Can Districts Keep Good Teachers in the Schools that Need Them Most? (November 20, 2010). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1541522 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1541522

Cassandra M. Guarino (Contact Author)

Michigan State University - College of Education ( email )

East Lansing, MI
United States

Abigail B. Brown

Government Accountability Office ( email )

441 G St., NW
Washington, DC 20548
United States

Adam E. Wyse

Michigan State University ( email )

Agriculture Hall
East Lansing, MI 48824-1122
United States

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