A federal Marshall Plan for Teaching focused on seven areas: compensation, debt-free preparation, high-retention pathways, mentoring, expertise-sharing, school redesign, and accountability¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 4 claims (4 for) · 6 studies (3 review, 3 associational), q2 · 0 of 6 report an effect size · 3 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The report's central recommendation is 'a nationwide Marshall Plan for teaching, similar to that enacted after World War II to rebuild Europe, but for rebuilding the teaching profession.' It would 'focus the powers of the federal government on supporting recruitment, preparation, support, and retention in teaching in seven key areas': raising net compensation through tax credits, housing subsidies, and salary incentives; making teacher preparation debt-free via service scholarships and loan forgiveness; expanding high-retention pathways such as residencies and Grow Your Own programs; providing high-quality mentoring for all beginning teachers; funding professional learning and collaboration; incentivizing school redesign away from the factory model; and rethinking school accountability around authentic measures of school quality and equity.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Sustained federal investment and coordination with states, since state and local professionalization initiatives 'can easily falter without a continuous federal commitment to a strong education profession'

Constraints¶

• Teacher salaries are determined at state or local levels and typically collectively bargained, 'leaving a limited role for the federal government in determining compensation'

Target Learners¶

• Early childhood and K–12 educators
• Students in high-need schools and subjects, including special education, science, and math

Target Learning Goals¶

• Recruiting and retaining a well-prepared, stable, diverse teacher workforce
• Supporting student learning recovery and access to qualified teachers

Claims¶

• Teacher salaries influence entry, supply, and retention in teaching [+W]
• Teachers with little preparation leave teaching at two to three times the rates of comprehensively prepared teachers [+W]
• Overall U.S. teacher turnover is about 16% annually, with about 8% leaving the profession and about 8% moving schools [+W]
• Between 2020–21 and 2021–22, 15.1% of U.S. public school teachers moved schools or left the profession, and turnover is now about 20% higher than in 1992 [+W]

Related Strategies¶

• Seven-policy comprehensive approach to equalizing student access to certified and experienced teachers
• Establish high-retention preparation pathways—residencies, Grow Your Own models, service scholarships, and mentoring/induction—to stem turnover in high-need subjects and schools
• Build high-retention, supportive pathways into teaching for candidates of color
• State and federal policy recommendations: recruit and prepare more candidates, retain new teachers through early-career mentoring, and improve working conditions
• Underwrite comprehensive preparation, improve teaching conditions, raise compensation, and expand induction to retain teachers of color
• Offer targeted service scholarships, loan forgiveness, and 1-year postbaccalaureate residency programs to rapidly expand the supply of well-prepared teachers in shortage fields and locations
• Invest in recruiting and retaining a diverse, EL-qualified educator workforce through bilingual teaching pathways
• Diversify the educator workforce through Grow Your Own programs, scholarships, and retention supports
• Invest in retention efforts for teachers of color that improve working conditions and provide personal and professional growth opportunities
• Retain teachers of color through leadership pipelines, multi-year induction and mentoring, and culturally responsive school climates
• Invest in high-quality induction and mentoring programs, which are associated with higher retention particularly for teachers of color
• Deploy a portfolio of research-based strategies — service scholarships, residencies, Grow Your Own programs, mentoring and induction, and compensation reform — to strengthen the teacher pipeline
• Design profession-level governance arrangements, modeled on Ostrom's commons mechanisms, to sustain expertise regeneration

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Darling-Hammond, L., DiNapoli, M., Jr., & Kini, T. (2023). The federal role in ending teacher shortages. Learning Policy Institute. https://doi.org/10.54300/649.892