What's the Cost of Teacher Turnover?

High teacher turnover—or churn—undermines student achievement and consumes valuable staff time and resources. It also contributes to teacher shortages throughout the country, as roughly 6 of 10 new teachers hired each year are replacing colleagues who left the classroom before retirement. Research shows that urban districts can, on average, spend more than $20,000 on each new hire, including school and district expenses related to separation, recruitment, hiring, and training. These investments don’t pay their full dividend when teachers leave within 1 or 2 years after being hired. Turnover rates vary by school and district, with those in rural and urban settings or that serve high percentages of student in poverty experiencing the highest rates. Use this tool to estimate the cost of teacher turnover in your school or district and to inform a local conversation about how to attract, support, and retain a high-quality teacher workforce. High-leverage strategies are highlighted below.


Selected tag:
California

Available Resources

Legislative Principles: Designing a State-Level Teacher Residency Program
Feb 22, 2018
Resource type:
Legislative Principles
Author:
Learning Policy Institute
California state solutions Tennessee Texas
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Legislative Principles: Designing a State-Level Teacher Residency Program
Feb 22, 2018
Resource type:
Legislative Principles
Author:
Learning Policy Institute
California state solutions Tennessee Texas
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Resource description

This document outlines evidence-based principles that should be included in legislation regarding state-level teacher residency programs.

Related policy solutions
Effective Training & Support for New Teachers
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Teacher Residencies in California
Jan 19, 2016
Resource type:
Brief, Research
California state solutions teacher residencies
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Teacher Residencies in California
Jan 19, 2016
Resource type:
Brief, Research
California state solutions teacher residencies
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Resource description

This brief describes how teacher residency programs in California help meet critical hiring needs in both urban and rural areas.

Related policy solutions
Effective Training & Support for New Teachers
Print
California Teacher Workforce Trends Signal Worsening Shortages
Feb 8, 2017
Resource type:
Brief, Research
Author:
Desiree Carver-Thomas, Linda Darling-Hammond
California state solutions
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California Teacher Workforce Trends Signal Worsening Shortages
Feb 8, 2017
Resource type:
Brief, Research
Author:
Desiree Carver-Thomas, Linda Darling-Hammond
California state solutions
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Resource description

This brief describes how the teacher shortage in California has worsened, with severe consequences for special education, math, science, and bilingual education. It includes recommendations for state-level policies that would provide near-term solutions for strengthening the teacher pipeline.

Related policy solutions
Service Scholarships & Student Loan Forgiveness , Effective Training & Support for New Teachers
Print
Speaking of Salaries: What It Will Take to Get Qualified, Effective Teachers in All Communities
May 20, 2011
Resource type:
Report, Research
Author:
Frank Adamson, Linda Darling-Hammond
California federal solutions New York state solutions
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Speaking of Salaries: What It Will Take to Get Qualified, Effective Teachers in All Communities
May 20, 2011
Resource type:
Report, Research
Author:
Frank Adamson, Linda Darling-Hammond
California federal solutions New York state solutions
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Resource description

This research report examines how and why teacher quality is so inequitably distributed and the impact of that distribution on student achievement. The authors discuss successful strategies for recruiting qualified and effective teachers to high-need schools, and the implications for federal policy to resolve the issue.

Related policy solutions
Effective Training & Support for New Teachers , Competitive Compensation
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Solving the teacher shortage: Revisiting the lessons we’ve learned
May 1, 2017
Resource type:
Article, Research
Author:
Barnett Berry, Patrick M. Shields
California North Carolina state solutions
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Solving the teacher shortage: Revisiting the lessons we’ve learned
May 1, 2017
Resource type:
Article, Research
Author:
Barnett Berry, Patrick M. Shields
California North Carolina state solutions
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Resource description

This article describes the successful efforts of California and North Carolina in the 1990’s to strengthen the profession and build coherent systems of teacher development through policy solutions to teacher shortages. The article also describes how those efforts were dismantled and the impact of that dismantling.

Related policy solutions
Service Scholarships & Student Loan Forgiveness , Effective Training & Support for New Teachers , Competitive Compensation
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