Showing papers by "Susanna Loeb published in 2005"
TL;DR: This article examined the effects of student demographic factors from occupational factors such as salaries and working conditions that may also influence turnover and are amenable to policy interventions, using California teacher survey data linked to district data on salaries and staffing patterns.
Abstract: A number of studies have found that teachers are prone to leave schools serving high proportions of low-achieving, low-income, and minority students for more economically and educationally advantaged schools. In schools with very high turnover rates, this can pose a number of challenges, including lack of continuity in instruction, lack of adequate teaching expertise for making curriculum decisions and providing support and mentoring, and lost time and resources for replacement and training. If high rates of turnover are caused largely by student characteristics, then policy strategies to correct the problem are limited. However, due to data constraints, little research has sought to disentangle the effects of student demographic factors from occupational factors such as salaries and working conditions that may also influence turnover and are amenable to policy interventions. Using California teacher survey data linked to district data on salaries and staffing patterns, this study examines a range of scho...
672 citations
TL;DR: Boyd et al. as mentioned in this paper examined New York City elementary school teachers' decisions to stay in the same school, transfer to another school in the district, or leave teaching in New York State during the first five years of their careers.
Abstract: 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’ subsequent 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 having the lowest-achieving students. For example, of the new teachers hired in New York City’s lowest-achieving schools in 1996–1998, 28 percent scored in the lowest quartile on the general-knowledge certification exam. Of those remaining in the same schools five years later, 44 percent had scores in the lowest quartile. In contrast, 22 percent of the new teachers in the higher-achieving schools were in the lowest quartile, which only increased to 24 percent for those remaining after five years. Second, the generally high teacher turnover in lowerperforming schools disadvantage students in those schools since the effectiveness of teachers increases over the first few years of their careers. Twenty-seven percent of first-year teachers in New York City’s lower-performing schools do not return the following year, compared to 15 percent in the quartile of schools having the relatively highest student achievement. In this paper we examine New York City elementary school teachers’ decisions to stay in the same school, transfer to another school in the district, transfer to another district, or leave teaching in New York State during the first five years of their careers. Our model allows us to go beyond past research in three important ways: examining how transfer and quit behavior is influenced by (i) interactions between teacher qualifications and school-level student achievement, (ii) unobserved heterogeneity in teachers’ responses to school-level student attributes, and (iii) the distance from new teachers’ prior homes to their initial job. Many factors influence teacher transfers and quits. Teachers respond positively to increased salary, although the variation in salary across districts often is not large enough to strongly affect teacher sorting. Non-pecuniary job characteristics such as class size, preparation time, facilities, student characteristics, and school leadership also can affect teacher decisions, and differences in these characteristics can be great across schools, especially in large urban areas (see Eric Hanushek et al., 1999; Loeb et al., 2005). In addition, teachers prefer schools and districts similar and geographically close to those they attended in high school (Boyd et al., 2004, 2005). Several recent state-specific studies have considered student characteristics. Benjamin Scafidi et al. (2003) use a competing-risk model and find that Georgia elementary teachers move from schools with higher proportions of minority students and from low-performing schools, but the latter is explained by teacher preferences for fewer minority students. Hanushek et al. (2004), using a similar model and Texas data, find that teachers prefer higher-achieving students even after controlling for student racial composition. Both studies interact teacher race * Boyd, Lankford, and Wyckoff: University at Albany, Albany, NY 12222; Loeb: Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305. We are grateful to Richard Murnane for comments and to the Smith Richardson Foundation and the U.S. Department of Education for financial support. We also appreciate assistance with data from the New York State Education Department. None of these organizations necessarily supports the views expressed in this paper. Any errors are attributable to the authors. 1 School performance is based on the 4th-grade English Language Arts exam. 2 The 28 versus 22 percent comparison for entering (mostly certified) teachers understates the actual difference in the qualifications of new teachers across schools. For example, approximately half of the new teachers in the lowest-achieving schools were not certified, compared to 20 percent in the higher-achieving schools. 3 Recent studies include Peter Dolton and Wilbert van der Klaauw (1999) and Todd Stinebrickner (2000).
550 citations
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TL;DR: The authors assesses the effects of pathways into teaching in New York City on the teacher workforce and on student achievement, finding that teachers who enter through new routes, with reduced coursework prior to teaching, are more or less effective at improving student achievement.
Abstract: We are in the midst of what amounts to a national experiment in how best to attract, prepare, and retain teachers, particularly for high-poverty urban schools. Using data on students and teachers in grades 38, this study assesses the effects of pathways into teaching in New York City on the teacher workforce and on student achievement. We ask whether teachers who enter through new routes, with reduced coursework prior to teaching, are more or less effective at improving student achievement. When compared to teachers who completed a university-based teacher education program, teachers with reduced coursework prior to entry often provide smaller initial gains in both mathematics and English language arts. Most differences disappear as the cohort matures, and many of the differences are not large in magnitude, typically 2 to 5 percent of a standard deviation. The variation in effectiveness within pathways is far greater than the average differences between pathways.
549 citations
TL;DR: This paper found that teachers express preferences to teach close to where they grew up and, controlling for proximity, prefer areas with characteristics similar to their hometown, and discussed implications of these preferences for the successful recruitment of teachers, including the potential benefits of local recruiting and training.
Abstract: 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. We also discuss implications for the modeling of teacher labor markets, including the possible biases that arise in estimates of compensating differentials when distance is omitted from the analyses. This study contributes to the literature on the geography of labor markets more generally by employing data on residential location during childhood instead of current residence, which may be endogenous to job choice. © 2005 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.
405 citations
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TL;DR: The authors assesses the effects of pathways into teaching in New York City on the teacher workforce and on student achievement and find that teachers who enter through new routes, with reduced coursework prior to teaching, are more or less effective at improving student achievement than other teachers and whether the presence of these alternative pathways affects the composition of the teaching workforce.
Abstract: We are in the midst of what amounts to a national experiment in how best to attract, prepare, and retain teachers, particularly for high poverty urban schools. Using data on students and teachers in grades three through eight, this study assesses the effects of pathways into teaching in New York City on the teacher workforce and on student achievement. We ask whether teachers who enter through new routes, with reduced coursework prior to teaching, are more or less effective at improving student achievement than other teachers and whether the presence of these alternative pathways affects the composition of the teaching workforce. Results indicate that in some instances the new routes provide teachers with higher student achievement gains than temporary license teachers, though more typically there is no difference. When compared to teachers who completed a university-based teacher education program, teachers with reduced course work prior to entry often provide smaller initial gains in both mathematics and English language arts. Most differences disappear as the cohort matures and many of the differences are not large in magnitude, typically 2 to 5 percent of a standard deviation. The variation in effectiveness within pathways is far greater than the average differences between pathways.
19 citations
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18 citations
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TL;DR: For instance, the authors found that children who start center care between ages two and three see greater gains than those who start centers earlier or later, and starting earlier than age 2 is related to more pronounced negative social effects.
Abstract: Previous research has demonstrated that attending center care is associated with cognitive benefits for young children. However, little is known about the ideal age for children to enter such care or the "right" amount of time, both weekly and yearly, for children to attend center programs. Using national data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS-K), this paper asks whether there are optimal levels of center care duration and intensity and whether these levels vary by race or income. We consider pre-reading and math skills as measured by assessments administered at the beginning of kindergarten, as well as teacher-reported social-behavioral measures. We find that on average attending center care is associated with positive gains in pre-reading and math skills, but negative social behavior. Across economic levels, children who start center care between ages two and three see greater gains than those who start centers earlier or later. Further, starting earlier than age 2 is related to more pronounced negative social effects. Results for center intensity vary by income levels and race. For instance, poor and middle-income children see academic gains from attending center intensively (more than 30 hours a week), but wealthier children do not; and while intense center negatively impacts Black and White's social development, it does not have any negative impact for Hispanic children.
17 citations
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TL;DR: For instance, this article found that children who start center care between ages two and three see greater gains than those who start centers earlier or later, and starting earlier than age 2 is related to more pronounced negative social effects.
Abstract: Previous research has demonstrated that attending center care is associated with cognitive benefits for young children. However, little is known about the ideal age for children to enter such care or the "right" amount of time, both weekly and yearly, for children to attend center programs. Using national data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS-K), this paper asks whether there are optimal levels of center care duration and intensity and whether these levels vary by race or income. We consider pre-reading and math skills as measured by assessments administered at the beginning of kindergarten, as well as teacher-reported social-behavioral measures. We find that on average attending center care is associated with positive gains in pre-reading and math skills, but negative social behavior. Across economic levels, children who start center care between ages two and three see greater gains than those who start centers earlier or later. Further, starting earlier than age 2 is related to more pronounced negative social effects. Results for center intensity vary by income levels and race. For instance, poor and middle-income children see academic gains from attending center intensively (more than 30 hours a week), but wealthier children do not; and while intense center negatively impacts Black and White's social development, it does not have any negative impact for Hispanic children.
9 citations
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TL;DR: The authors assesses the effects of pathways into teaching in New York City on the teacher workforce and on student achievement and find that teachers who enter through new routes, with reduced coursework prior to teaching, are more or less effective at improving student achievement than other teachers and whether the presence of these alternative pathways affects the composition of the teaching workforce.
Abstract: We are in the midst of what amounts to a national experiment in how best to attract, prepare, and retain teachers, particularly for high poverty urban schools. Using data on students and teachers in grades three through eight, this study assesses the effects of pathways into teaching in New York City on the teacher workforce and on student achievement. We ask whether teachers who enter through new routes, with reduced coursework prior to teaching, are more or less effective at improving student achievement than other teachers and whether the presence of these alternative pathways affects the composition of the teaching workforce. Results indicate that in some instances the new routes provide teachers with higher student achievement gains than temporary license teachers, though more typically there is no difference. When compared to teachers who completed a university-based teacher education program, teachers with reduced course work prior to entry often provide smaller initial gains in both mathematics and English language arts. Most differences disappear as the cohort matures and many of the differences are not large in magnitude, typically 2 to 5 percent of a standard deviation. The variation in effectiveness within pathways is far greater than the average differences between pathways.
3 citations
01 Jan 2005
TL;DR: In this article, the authors address the challenge of assuring that all students are taught by the high quality teachers needed for their educational success, and propose a number of strategies which they believe offer substantial promise in addressing the underlying causes of the problem.
Abstract: Those concerned with educational policy face a stark reality: the students failing to achieve even minimal levels of educational achievement typically are taught by individuals whose qualifications are relatively weakest and often inadequate. These same students are most dependent upon their teachers and schools for academic learning, as nearly all of them come from disadvantaged home and community environments. This reality raises a set of questions: What is the extent to which teacher quality differs across student groups? What are the underlying causes and consequences for student learning? How can public policies best address the challenge of assuring that all students are taught by the high quality teachers needed for their educational success? We address these questions in this chapter. Teaching in traditionally hard-to-staff and low-performing schools needs to be made far more attractive. Urban districts must institute policies that make it possible to attract and retain sufficient numbers of high quality teachers for their needs in general, including sufficient numbers of highly effective teachers willing to teach in the schools traditionally hardest to staff. Even though current research does not allow us to say with a high degree of confidence how dollars can best be spent to achieve this outcome, there are a number of strategies which we believe offer substantial promise in addressing the underlying causes of the problem, including salary increases targeted to hard-to-staff schools, hard-to staff-subjects, increasing the nonpecuniary rewards of teaching, and a “grow your own” strategy of teacher recruitment.
3 citations