NCTAF Policy Brief Says Teacher Dropouts Cost Nation More Than $7 Billion Annually

June 20, 2007 - PRLog -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - June 20, 2007 -The teacher dropout problem is costing the nation billions of dollars, draining resources, diminishing teaching quality, and undermining the nation's ability to close the student achievement gap, according to a new policy brief released today by the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future (NCTAF).

NCTAF estimates that the national cost of public school teacher turnover could be over $7.3 billion a year.

The policy brief is based on an 18-month pilot study NCTAF recently completed on the cost of teacher turnover in five school districts - Chicago; Granville, N.C.; Jemez Valley, N.M.; Milwaukee; and Santa Rosa,
N.M.   The selected districts varied in size, location, and demographics,
enabling NCTAF researchers to explore how these variations affected costs. The research was supported by grants from the Joyce Foundation and the Spencer Foundation.

The pilot study examined the costs of recruiting, hiring, processing, and training teachers at both the school and district levels.  The findings indicate that the cost of turnover does vary from district to district, largely dependant upon the size of the district and the types of induction programs the district implements - but in all cases, the cost of teacher turnover is substantial.

"This is a good news/bad news story," said NCTAF president Tom Carroll. "We want to help school leaders identify the problem, so that they will be in a better position to manage their resources to reduce teacher turnover and improve teaching quality."

Key Findings

NCTAF's findings are a clear indication that America's teacher dropout problem is spiraling out of control.  Teacher attrition has grown by 50 percent over the past fifteen years.  The national teacher turnover rate has risen to 16.8 percent.  In urban schools it is over 20 percent, and, in some schools and districts, the teacher dropout rate is actually higher than the student dropout rate.  The pilot study shows:

.   The costs of teacher turnover are substantial.
.   At-risk schools spend scarce dollars on teacher turnover.
.   Teacher turnover undermines at-risk schools.
.   At-risk schools could recoup funds by investing in teacher
retention.
.   Turnover costs can be identified, aggregated, and analyzed.
.   District data systems are not designed to control the costs of
turnover.

The monetary loss for many schools impacts already stretched budgets and adds to the hiring struggles of school leaders.  The problem is most acute in the nation's high minority, high poverty, and low performing schools. Because 46% of all new teachers in the United States leave the profession within five years, NCTAF says leaders of at-risk schools are in a constant cycle of rebuilding their staff.  

Opportunity for Change

Currently, most education leaders do not know the costs of teacher turnover in their schools and districts.  To help them stem teacher turnover, NCTAF
recommends:

.   Investing in new teacher support and development
Comprehensive induction programs have been proven to increase teacher retention and improve student achievement. The costs of such programs could be offset by the savings achieved through decreases in the costs of turnover.

.   Targeting comprehensive retention strategies to at-risk schools
Teachers leave at-risk (low-income, high-minority, low-performing) schools at high rates. Retention initiatives in these schools have the greatest potential for a high return on investment, both in terms of resources and school performance.

.   Tracking teacher turnover and its costs annually
In order to make sound decisions, school leaders and policymakers need data on teacher turnover and its costs. By tracking teachers and costs year by year, school leaders and policymakers will be able to determine where to invest in teacher retention and the impact of these investments.

.   Amending NCLB to hold school leaders accountable for turnover and
its costs
To ensure that every child has access to a school with a rate of teacher attrition and experience that is comparable to all other schools served by its local education agency, each local and state education agency should be required to publicly report the distribution of qualified teachers, the average years of teaching experience in each school, the annual rate of teacher and principal attrition, and the cost of that attrition for each school it serves.

.   Upgrading district data systems
Most districts have huge collections of data on the cost elements associated with teacher turnover, but the current data systems stand in the way of accurate and timely analysis. Coherent data systems should be created to house cost data in a way that is easily accessible and analyzable. Teacher turnover data should be added to current systems and should be included in the design of new systems. With easily accessible data, districts could begin to analyze and manage teacher turnover and its costs. Robust data systems that provide sufficient information about teacher effectiveness in specific schools will also enable district human resource departments to be increasingly accountable for the retention of high quality teachers.

In addition, NCTAF has developed the Teacher Turnover Cost Calculator, which uses the data collection and analysis protocol from the pilot study. Using the NCTAF Teacher Turnover Cost Calculator, educators and members of the public can estimate the dollars spent on teacher turnover for a specific school or school district anywhere in the country. The calculator contains enough background information on this tool to enable school leaders to design and conduct their own detailed turnover cost analyses.  NCTAF's Teacher Turnover Cost Calculator can be found at www.nctaf.org. At the site, NCTAF will also host a Wiki for discussion and comparison of costs that have been calculated by users in communities around the country.

About NCTAF: The National Commission on Teaching and America's Future
(NCTAF) is a non-profit, non-partisan advocacy organization based in Washington, DC.  NCTAF is dedicated to providing every child with competent, caring, qualified teaching in schools organized for success.  With a network of 25 partner states and links to professional educational organizations across the nation, NCTAF provides leadership on innovation and improvement in teaching and learning in America's schools.  For more information, visit NCTAF's website: www.nctaf.org.

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The National Commission on Teaching and America's Future (NCTAF) is a non-profit, non-partisan advocacy organization based in Washington, DC. NCTAF is dedicated to providing every child with competent, caring, qualified teaching in schools organized for success. With a network of 25 partner states and links to professional educational organizations across the nation, NCTAF provides leadership on innovation and improvement in teaching and learning in America's schools. Visit us at www.nctaf.org.

Website: www.nctaf.org