What School Leaders Need to Know About Teacher Retention

Teacher retention has been an issue of national concern for decades (Moir, 2009; Veenman, 1984). According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), 49.4 million students attending public schools are educated by 3.2 million teachers (Feistritzer, 2011). Current research suggests that an estimated 20% to 33% of new teachers will continue to leave the profession within the first three years of their career. Even more alarming, these studies concluded that within five years of entering the profession, close to 50% of teachers in urban districts change careers (Garcia, Slate, & Delgado, 2009; National Education Association, 2008). As a result, this has contributed to recruitment efforts that have evolved to include an emphasis on teacher retention. Replacement of teachers disrupts instruction and impacts the student learning environment. Reform initiatives set forth by state and federal mandates hold districts and campuses accountable for student performance. Districts must also ensure that teachers meet “highly qualified” requirements to comply with the No Child Let Behind Act of 2002. The purpose of the study was to determine if a relationship existed between various certification paths and teacher retention. Quantitative research techniques examined the extent of the relationship between retention rates and various teacher certification paths. Descriptive statistics were used to establish the effects of each contribution. Two statistical models were executed to obtain the statistical measures: Pearson chi-square test and order logistic regression. The results revealed that former student teachers had a significant effect on retention if employed in the same district.