State and federal policy recommendations: recruit and prepare more candidates, retain new teachers through early-career mentoring, and improve working conditions¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 4 claims (3 for, 1 mixed) · 4 studies (2 associational, 1 causal, 1 qualitative), q1–q2 · 0 of 4 report an effect size · 4 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The report recommends seven "evidence-based approaches for resolving teacher shortages, which focus on recruiting and preparing more candidates, retaining new teachers through early-career mentoring, and improving teacher working conditions." These include federal action on compensation (debt-free college, teacher tax credits of at least $5,000 annually and up to $12,500 in highest-poverty schools), a statewide recruitment navigation initiative, community-college-to-university "2+2" pathways, capacity-building grants for preparation programs in high-demand fields, stronger uptake of Golden State Teacher Grant scholarships, cultivating NBCT mentors for novice teachers, and a teacher working-conditions survey plus staff wellness programs.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Ongoing state investments and complementary federal actions; adequate preparation-program capacity; high-quality mentoring and induction for new teachers

Constraints¶

• The report notes the federal government has a limited role in addressing locally set salaries, and that preparation programs' admissions may be constrained by university funding rules

Target Learners¶

• Prospective teacher candidates, novice teachers, and students in high-need schools

Target Learning Goals¶

• A stable, fully prepared teacher workforce; reduced turnover; uninterrupted student learning

Claims¶

• Few teachers receive regular mentoring, and early-career teachers of color report less access to mentoring and induction than White peers [+W]
• Teachers of color in focus groups report five workforce challenges: antagonistic culture, feeling undervalued, deprived agency and autonomy, unfavorable working conditions, and high personal costs [+W]
• High teacher attrition, near 8% annually, is the largest share of teacher demand, and halving it could virtually eliminate shortages [+W]
• Researchers argue that the teacher shortage in poor school districts may stem more from retaining teachers than from attracting them [~W]

Related Strategies¶

• Four-part state policy agenda: coherent administration, universal affordability, a well-qualified workforce, and quality improvement for all programs
• Seven-policy comprehensive approach to equalizing student access to certified and experienced teachers
• A federal Marshall Plan for Teaching focused on seven areas: compensation, debt-free preparation, high-retention pathways, mentoring, expertise-sharing, school redesign, and accountability
• Underwrite comprehensive preparation, improve teaching conditions, raise compensation, and expand induction to retain teachers of color
• Develop high-retention pathways — Grow Your Own programs and teacher residencies — to build and diversify local teacher supply
• State policy actions across the career continuum: attract, prepare, and develop/support/retain educators
• Build high-retention, supportive pathways into teaching for candidates of color
• Invest in recruiting and retaining a diverse, EL-qualified educator workforce through bilingual teaching pathways
• Districts use financial, personnel management, and working-conditions strategies to recruit and retain teachers, including leadership compensation, mentoring, and collaboration time
• Diversify the educator workforce through Grow Your Own programs, scholarships, and retention supports
• Five policy priorities to address Michigan's inequitable teacher shortage: fair funding, data systems, career attractiveness, administrator supports, and professional development
• Offer flexible part-time instructional roles to bring certified, nonemployed educators back into classrooms
• 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
• Four-part policy strategy for increasing student access to advanced mathematics and science courses
• Invest in retention of teachers of color through residencies, affinity groups, and induction/mentoring
• Federal policy levers for an equitable pathways system: funding, mandates, certification, research, and data systems
• Institutional, state, and federal actions to increase faculty diversity

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Carver-Thomas, D., Burns, D., Leung, M., & Ondrasek, N. (2022). Teacher shortages during the pandemic: How California districts are responding. Learning Policy Institute. https://doi.org/10.54300/899.809