1 Concentration of Low-Performing Students (8 th grade Math, 2005)

2 Percent of Students in Schools Scoring at Level 1 on 4th Grade Math Exam, 2002

3 Improving Teaching Quality Teaching Quality = Outcomes for children  Improve the performance of those who enter teaching  Attract more able individuals to teaching  Retain able individuals in teaching What are the most effective policies?

4 Age Distribution of New York State Teachers,

5 Teacher Sorting

6 Attract more able teachers  To what extent do working conditions and/or compensation affect who enters teaching?  Reduce the costs of becoming a teacher

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8 Draw of Home 85 percent of teachers take a first job within 40 miles of home

9 Urban Districts Net Importer of Teachers

10 NYC Salary Schedule ExperienceBAMAMA ,00043,78645, ,32544,11145, ,65044,43645, ,22545,01146, ,72045,50646, ,25546,04147, ,13647, ,23153,01754, ,47659,26260, ,18260,96862, ,78664,57265, ,73265,51866, ,72472,51073, ,65976,44577,739

11 Real Salaries of Teachers in NYC and Its Suburbs (1 and 20 years of experience, 2003 dollars)

12 Structure of Nominal Teacher Salaries, All Districts,

13 Structure of Real Teacher Salaries, All Districts, 1970, 2002

14 Structure of Real Teacher Salaries

15 Improve Performance of Teachers  Better knowledge and skills  Improve other inputs (e.g. principals, computers)  Different technology  Incentives to perform better

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18 Retain able teachers  Incentives to remain  Stronger performance based job retention

19 Rates at Which Teachers Leave NYS Districts,

20 Proportion of NYC Teachers Who Transferred to Another District by Cohort and Experience

21 The Importance of Place Annual Turnover of First-Year Teachers by NYC Residency Prior to Taking First Job

22 Do Licensure Requirements Improve Student Outcomes?  To what extent do the knowledge and skills provided in teacher preparation programs improve teachers’ ability to improve outcomes for students? (Preparation)  How effective are licensure exams in differentiating teachers who are inadequate in improving student outcomes from those who are at least adequate? (Exams)  Does the requirement that teachers be licensed deter some individuals from becoming teachers who would have been successful in improving student outcomes? (Supply)  How effective is local hiring in discerning the attributes of teachers who most effectively improve student outcomes? (Hiring)

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