Teacher Policy Research

Teacher Policy Research (TPR) is a research partnership between the University of Virginia, Stanford University and the University at Albany that examines the behavior of teachers and administrators with the goal of developing policies that will attract and retain high-quality teachers and leaders, especially in low-performing schools. The research covers a broad range of issues in teacher policy, including teacher preparation, teacher labor market institutions, how teachers are distributed across schools, and teacher retention, particularly in urban, low performing schools. We have received financial support from the Carnegie Corporation, the City University of New York, The National Science Foundation, the New York State Department of Education, The Smith Richardson Foundation, The Spencer Foundation, the Noyce Foundation and the U.S. Department of Education.

Advisors

Teacher recruitment and preparation

Support

We appreciate support from the New York City Department of Education, The New York State Education Department, University of Virginia, Stanford University and the University at Albany in addition to financial support from the Carnegie Corporation, the City University of New York, The National Science Foundation, The Smith Richardson Foundation, The Spencer Foundation, the Noyce Foundation and the U.S. Department of Education.

Data Collection

Surveys

In the Spring and Summer of 2004, we surveyed program graduates in traditional and alternative teacher education programs in the New York City area. For a list of participating teacher education programs, go to Supporters.

Teacher sorting and the plight of urban schools: A descriptive analysis

This paper uses rich new data on New York State teachers to: determine how much variation in the average attributes of teachers exists across schools, identify schools that have the least-qualified teachers, assess whether the distribution has changed over time, and determine how the distribution of teachers is impacted by attrition and transfer, as well as by the job matches between teachers and schools at the start of careers. Our results show striking differences in the qualifications of teachers across schools.

The draw of home: How teachers’ preferences for proximity disadvantage urban schools

This paper explores a little-understood aspect of labor markets, their spatial geography. Using data from New York State, we find teacher labor markets to be geographically very small. Teachers express preferences to teach close to where they grew up and, controlling for proximity, they prefer areas with characteristics similar to their hometown. We discuss implications of these preferences for the successful recruitment of teachers, including the potential benefits of local recruiting and training.

Explaining the short careers of high-achieving teachers in schools with low-performing students

Low-achieving students often are taught by the least-qualified teachers. These disparities begin when teachers take their first jobs, and in urban areas they are worsened by teachers' sub- sequent decisions to transfer and quit. Such quits and transfers increase disparities in at least two ways. First, more qualified teachers are substantially more likely to leave schools hav- ing the lowest-achieving students.

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