Teacher Preparation and Employment Outcomes of Beginning Teachers

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REL Northeast & Islands examined employment outcomes for beginning teachers in Rhode Island who completed a teacher preparation program in the state between 2012/13 and 2016/17 and went on to teach for at least one year in the state public school system. The study found: After three years about a third of the teachers were still teaching in their initial school. A third were teaching at another school in the state public school system, and a third were no longer teaching in the state public school system. Three-year mobility, retention, and attrition rates varied by teacher certification field. Teachers with special education certification had the highest mobility rate, while teachers with early childhood certification had the highest retention rate. After one year and after three years, the mobility, retention, and attrition rates of beginning teachers did not differ significantly across individual teacher preparation program providers, except in the case of one private provider offering only an alternative program. Teachers who were trained at that private provider had a higher one-year retention rate and a lower three-year retention rate than teachers who were trained at the state’s two largest providers. The study also found that each year from 2010/11 through 2016/17, an average of 25 percent of the district’s teachers left their school and 8 percent left the district. During the first five years of teaching, 77 percent of teachers left their school and 45 percent left the district.  Turnover rates were highest for teachers who taught middle school grades, teachers who missed more than 10 days of school a year, teachers who identified as Black, teachers who had previously changed schools, and teachers who had low evaluation ratings.  Teacher turnover was higher in schools where teachers had a less positive view of the school climate.  School climate mattered more for teachers with higher evaluation ratings than for teachers with lower evaluation ratings. The findings from this study can help state and local education agency leaders and the state’s teacher preparation program providers review the preparation fields offered and how they align with state needs and in considering the implications for policies, practices, and supports for teacher candidates and beginning teachers.