Rhode Island, like many other states, wants to better understand teacher mobility and attrition because of the adverse effects teacher turnover can have on student achievement and local education budgets. Leaders at the Rhode Island Department of Education want to understand what factors are related to teacher mobility, retention, and attrition,…

A year of COVID-19 quarantine required educators to switch from in-person to virtual learning platforms, causing a dramatic reimagining of their daily praxis. Their experiences are likely to influence new norms for K-12 education. While virtual learning can be effective, student engagement, student retention, and student attention can be…

The last two years disrupted public education systems, but they also highlighted opportunities. Schools and districts can apply the nimbleness they demonstrated during the pandemic to efforts to reconnect and reengage their students. In this moment, state boards of education are in the perfect position to guide schools and districts, not just to a…

Because teacher turnover can adversely affect student achievement and local education budgets, many states want to better understand the extent to which teachers switch schools or leave the state public school system. Leaders at the Rhode Island Department of Education are interested specifically in understanding factors related to teacher…

This brief summarizes the results from a study of the recruitment, employment, and retention of minority k-12 teachers. The study examines the extent and sources of the minority teacher shortage--the low proportion of minority teachers in comparison to the increasing numbers of minority students in the school system. Using the National Center for…

One way to improve struggling schools' access to effective teachers is to use selective transfer incentives. Such incentives offer bonuses for the highest-performing teachers to move into schools serving the most disadvantaged students. In this report, we provide evidence from a randomized experiment that tested whether such a policy intervention…

A federal report released by the Department of Families and Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA, 2009), entitled "Closing the Gap on Indigenous Disadvantage: The Challenge for Australia", highlighted the inequality that exists between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students based on a restricted access to…

The transition from eighth grade to high school results in a higher drop-out rate and more grade retentions than any other grade. However, when districts and schools develop and implement a sound transition program, the outcomes for ninth graders are improved. Key points of this briefing paper include the following promising interventions: (1)…

This paper describes key success factors for the implementation and development of a LEGO robotics engineering outreach program for elementary school students in West Texas. The outreach program not only aims at getting young students excited about engineering but at the same time aims at improving retention rates among electrical and computer…

Rapid demographic changes in culture, race/ethnicity, and language in the United States have exerted a powerful influence on public schools, raising significant concerns or issues relative to the ability of the educational system to successfully educate all of its children as future citizens of a democratic society. Educational outcome data for…

The purpose of this paper was to examine the cross-national performance of fourth- and eighth-grade students in mathematics on the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2003. The TIMSS assessment data were used to identify nations that have a competitive edge in the critical area of mathematics. The Trends in International…

When Erik G. Brown launched his teaching career at the Cesar Chavez Academy in East Palo Alto, California, four years ago, he was not alone. Seventy-five percent of the teachers in the 400-student middle school were new to the district, and two-thirds of those were new to the field. The school had gone through six principals in six years, and its…

L3 is an intertribal residential school enrolling approximately 200 students in grades 5-8 from tribes in the northern Midwest. As a result of successful grant-writing which espoused Circle of Courage and Asset-Building, the school built up an impressive configuration of programs funded by a variety of sources, including a cadre of mental health…

This site is an intertribal residential grant school annually enrolling over 250 students in grades 1-8 from tribes located in three states on the Northern Great Plains. From its inception in 1890, the boarding school's mission has been to provide services for young children in need of a safe and supportive living and learning environment. For…