A Longitudinal Investigation of the Relationship between Teacher Preparation and Teacher Retention.

Few issues in education threaten the nation as seriously as the present and growing shortage of teachers. Teacher attrition is high among teachers across the nation and is one of the most serious causes of teacher shortage (Ingersoll, 2004). As policy makers rush to address this problem, research is needed to examine the retention effects of policy decisions regarding various elements affecting teachers' decisions to remain in or leave the profession. In recent years, there has been growing popularity of alternative teacher certification, which is largely due to the serious teacher shortage across the country (Cochran-Smith et al., 2011). In 2004, 43 states, plus the District of Columbia, reported having some type of alternative route for certifying teachers, whereas only 8 states said they had alternative routes in 1983 when the National Center for Education Information began collecting such data. In states like California, New Jersey, and Texas, which have been pursuing alternative routes since the mid-1980s, 20% or more of new teachers enter the profession through alternative routes. Alternative route certification programs (ARC) have been specifically designed to recruit, prepare, and license talented individuals who already have at least a bachelor's degree. Candidates must pass a rigorous screening process. ARC programs are field based and include course work or equivalent experiences while teaching. Candidates of the program work closely with their mentors in preparation to meet the high performance standards required for completion of the program (Office of Innovation and Improvement, 2004). In the report of the Education Commission of the States, the commission raised the important question of whether there are alternative route programs that graduate high percentages of effective new teachers with average or higher than average rates of teacher retention (Allen, 2003). The report concluded that retention rates for alternative routes can be comparable to those of traditionally prepared teachers over the short term, but with regard to long-term retention, the research on this issue has to be regarded as inconclusive. This study aims to look at long-term retention effects of alternative route teacher preparation programs and traditional teacher preparation programs. Purpose Teacher retention is important because teacher turnover creates instability and costs and negatively impacts teaching quality--especially in schools that most need stability (Donaldson & Johnson, 2011). During an interview in 2013, professor and researcher Richard Ingersoll stated that anywhere between 40% and 50% of teachers will leave the classroom within their first 5 years. This percentage includes the 9.5% who leave before the end of their first year (Riggs, 2013). Ingersoll (2004) used the term the revolving door effect to describe the frustrating cycle that occurs at at-risk schools that continually search for new teachers to replace the ones who leave. When qualified teachers leave in just a few years, they need to be replaced by novice teachers, which incurs substantial costs. According to the U.S. Department of Labor (as cited by Alliance for Excellent Education, 2005), school systems in the United States spent $4.9 billion on teacher turnover in 2005. More important than monetary cost is the cost to student academic wellbeing: Continuously replacing experienced, effective teachers with novice teachers causes students to be taught by a stream of inexperienced, first-year teachers. Research is needed to explore new, alternative routes to teaching careers that can result in good retention. The purpose of this study was to examine one important factor related to teacher retention: type of teacher preparation. There appears to be three main routes to a teaching career: * Teachers can complete a regular, accredited, baccalaureate-level college-or university-based teacher education program. …