Type of Document	Dissertation
Author	Ingle, William Kyle
Author's Email Address	wingle@fsu.edu
URN	etd-06272007-144241
Title	The Relationship between Teacher Quality and Teacher Attrition
Degree	Doctor of Philosophy
Department	Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, Department of
Advisory Committee	Advisor Name Title Douglas N. Harris Committee Co-Chair Patrice M. Iatarola Committee Co-Chair Diana C. Rice Committee Member Joseph C. Beckham Committee Member
Keywords	Teacher Attrition Teacher Quality
Date of Defense	2007-06-11
Availability	unrestricted
Abstract Very few research studies exist that examine the relationship between teacher value-added and attrition. Utilizing value-added modeling and binomial logistic regression, this study sought to address this dearth in the literature, asking, what is the relationship between teacher quality and attrition? Are the teachers with high value-added scores staying or leaving a medium-sized school district? Are teachers with high value-added scores moving within the district? This study found that the school district is not losing its teachers with higher value-added. Indeed, it found a significant (p<.05) and negative relationship between reading teachers’ value-added scores and attrition, a finding consistent with the small number of studies that have examined the relationship between valued-added and teacher attrition. Results of the study revealed a “U-shaped curve”—a pattern that is prevalent in the teacher attrition literature. This study also revealed secondary and alternatively certified teachers more likely to exit. Student characteristics were associated with teacher exit behaviors, specifically, a statistically significant and positive relationship (p<.01) between classroom percentages of students enrolled in the free/reduced lunch program and leaving among both math and reading teachers. Findings on the number of course preparations and attrition indicated that teachers with more course preparations were more likely to stay, which suggests that teachers that survive may be best fit for the job and for a variety of courses. This study found no significant relationship between teacher quality and transfer behaviors. Significant findings on transfers are fewer in number than those of leavers in general. Findings suggested that teacher transfers are more likely to occur in the first half of the teacher’s career rather than the last. While teacher leavers were more likely to exit secondary schools than elementary schools, the results were mixed among math and reading transfers, such that secondary school reading teachers were more likely to transfer than elementary school teachers. Conversely, secondary math teacher were less likely to transfer. This may be due to the fact that there were simply fewer transfer options for secondary math teachers than there were for elementary math teachers. Only one classroom characteristic was a significant predictor of teacher transfers among math teachers—class percentage of African-American students.
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