How Effective Are Scholarships to Recruit the “Best and Brightest” Into Teaching

Ω

Who Is Recruited, Where Do They Teach, How Effective Are They, and How Long Do They Stay?


Is a popular innovation for increasing human capital in the teaching profession—competitive college scholarships for teachers—effective? The authors of this study show that one large and long-standing merit-based scholarship program (a) attracts teacher candidates who have high academic qualifications; (b) yields graduates who teach lower performing students, although not as challenging as the students of other beginning teachers; (c) produces teachers who raise high school and third- through eighth-grade mathematics test scores more than other traditionally prepared teachers do; and (d) produces teachers who stay in public school classrooms for 5 years or more at higher rates than alternative entry or other traditionally prepared teachers.