Low Science and Math Teacher Retention: Causes, Consequences, and How Some Urban Middle and High Schools Are Making Progress

这个项目是一项为期三年的探索性研究，对象是城市学区内保留率低和高的学校。这项研究将通过比较高保留率和低保留率的初中和高中的政策和做法，以及检查与教师离职相关的显性和隐性成本，来解决科学和数学教师保留率低的问题。该项目的具体目标是：(1)确定与高保留率相关的学校和地区政策和做法；(2)确定中学和高中科学和数学教师成功的留任政策是否存在不同的影响；以及(3)开发教师离职成本的综合模型。该项目的预期结果包括：1.研究中包括的6所高保留率和6所低保留率初中和高中的概况；2.描述与高保留率和低保留率学校相关的政策和做法，以及它们如何对数学和科学教师产生不同影响的跨学校分析；3.离职成本分析，其中包括与教师流失率相关的显性和隐性成本类别的详细说明，并将推导出的公式应用于该学区；以及4.计划在全国四到六个城市地区复制这项探索性研究，以检验其结果。

This project is a three-year exploratory study on schools that have low- and high- retention rates in an urban school district. This research will address low teacher retention for science and math teachers by comparing the policies and practices of high- and low-retention middle and high schools, and by examining the explicit and hidden costs associated with teacher turnover. The specific goals of this project are to (1) identify school and district policies and practices associated with high retention rates, (2) determine whether there are differential effects of successful retention policies for middle and high school science and math teachers, and (3) develop a comprehensive model of the cost of teacher turnover. The anticipated outcomes of the project include: 1. Profiles of the six high- and six low-retention middle and high schools included in the study, 2. A cross-school analysis that describes the policies and practices associated with high- and low- retention schools and how they differentially affect math and science teachers, 3. A cost-of-turnover analysis that includes the specification of the explicit and hidden cost categories associated with teacher turnover and the application of the derived formula to the district, and 4. A plan to replicate this exploratory study in four to six urban districts across the country in order to test its findings.