American Economic Journal:
Economic Policy
ISSN 1945-7731 (Print) | ISSN 1945-774X (Online)
Attracting and Retaining Highly Effective Educators in Hard-to-Staff Schools
American Economic Journal: Economic Policy
(pp. 1–37)
Abstract
Attracting and retaining effective teachers in high-poverty schools remains a persistent challenge. We evaluate the impact of an initiative that offered substantial performance-based compensation to highly effective teachers in the lowest-achieving schools. We find that the program led to dramatic improvements in achievement, nearly closing the gap between the targeted schools and the district average. When the program was later reversed for some campuses, effective teachers departed at high rates, resulting in an immediate decline in student achievement. The results underscore the potential for effectiveness-based compensating differentials to attract and retain effective teachers in disadvantaged schools.Citation
Morgan, Andrew, Minh Nguyen, Eric Hanushek, Ben Ost, and Steven Rivkin. 2026. "Attracting and Retaining Highly Effective Educators in Hard-to-Staff Schools." American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 18 (3): 1–37. DOI: 10.1257/pol.20240356Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- H75 State and Local Government: Health; Education; Welfare; Public Pensions
- I21 Analysis of Education
- I28 Education: Government Policy
- J31 Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
- J45 Public Sector Labor Markets