High teacher turnover rates may be costly to school districts, disrupt operations, and lower student achievement¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associationalr?·q2
Currency · newest study 2020 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · overdue for a recheck since 2025: baselines and conditions change
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r
the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.
This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q2 i? High teacher turnover rates may impose costs on districts, disrupt operations, and lower student achievement. → Regional Educational Laboratory Mid‑Atlantic 2020
Evidence¶
Regional Educational Laboratory Mid‑Atlantic 2020¶
Regional Educational Laboratory Mid‑Atlantic. (2020). Understanding Teacher Turnover: Insights from the School District of Philadelphia (Infographic). Regional Educational Laboratory Mid‑Atlantic, published Oct 13, 2020. https://www.mathematica.org/publications/understanding-teacher-turnover-insights-from-the-school-district-of-philadelphia
q2 · i? · associational · r?
The publication's framing statement, presented without accompanying data, statistics, or analysis in the supplied text. It asserts that turnover is widespread and that high turnover rates "may be costly to the district, disrupt operations, and lower student achievement." No effect sizes or figures are printed.
"Teacher turnover is a widespread issue. High turnover rates may be costly to the district, disrupt operations, and lower student achievement."
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- A standing committee structure sustains middle school change despite personnel turnover — related
- Effects of Balanced Leadership® on student achievement, teacher retention, and leadership practice are not established by standards-meeting evidence — related
- Districts' costs for using Ecree depend on implementation and support needs, and the price per student would likely be lower for larger districts — related
- Texas teacher turnover cost estimates exceed $10,800 per teacher in rural districts, $13,200 in suburban districts, and $25,200 in urban districts — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
- Principal turnover is common: 18% of principals leave schools each year and half of new principals leave within three years, with cascading consequences — related
- Teacher turnover costs districts billions annually and harms student achievement — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
- After accounting for teacher and school characteristics, each $1,000 increase in cost-of-living-adjusted salary is associated with about a 0.34 percentage-point decrease in turnover probability — related
- Districts' prior-year teacher turnover was negatively associated with certification rates, and certification rates tend to be higher where beginning teacher salaries are higher — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
high-teacher-turnover-costly-disruptive-lowers-achievement |
title |
High teacher turnover rates may be costly to school districts, disrupt operations, and lower student achievement |
description |
High teacher turnover rates may be costly to school districts, disrupt operations, and lower student achievement |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
weak |
newest_evidence |
2020 |
recheck_by |
2025 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-08 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — regional-educational-laboratory-midatlantic-2020 |
Frontmatter is the page's machine-readable record — see the Schema & Guide.