Disparities in Teacher Quality, Recruitment, and Retention in North Carolina’s Public Schools

Problem Statement

High quality, experienced teachers are more concentrated in low-poverty, low-minority schools, while less experienced and effective teachers are concentrated in high poverty schools, usually with minority populations (termed “disadvantaged” schools). This inequality in instruction widens the gap of academic achievement between these populations of students. This trend leads to higher dropout rates, lower college attendance, and reinforced poverty in the populations of students served in disadvantaged schools. Due to the prevalence of neighborhood segregation in North Carolina, high rates of poverty and larger populations of minorities usually characterize the areas served by these schools.

Principal factors that cause disparities in teacher quality and experience between advantaged and disadvantaged schools are low pay and quality of the school environment. Teachers find that in disadvantaged schools, they have more difficulties in maintaining control of a classroom, reaching test score goals, and finding job satisfaction. Teachers most commonly will make within-district moves to teach in more advantaged schools that have better working environments. Disadvantaged schools have less experienced administrators, which results in higher teacher dissatisfaction. Surveys of teachers in North Carolina indicate that support from leadership or administration within schools is the most important factor in choosing to remain in a school or transfer to another within the district. Support from administration allows teachers to handle problems within the classroom such as disciplinary issues, access to resources, and referrals of students to counseling and social services.

In addition, high-poverty schools lack social support services for their most disadvantaged children. Schools in which children’s basic needs of healthcare, mental and social support, and proper nutrition are not being met usually have higher rates of teacher attrition.  In order for equity to be achieved between disadvantaged populations of students and their low-poverty peers, this inequality in human capital must be addressed.

Past implementations of monetary incentives to increase teacher quality have failed to maintain teachers’ employment in disadvantaged schools in North Carolina. Teachers cited that the pay incentives have not been high enough to consider remaining in schools in which it is more difficult to teach than in the more advantaged schools in the district. The only significant effects of these bonuses have been lowering the amount of teachers who leave the profession within their first few years of employment. However, evaluations of teacher success tend to rely heavily on test scores, which correlate with multiple factors other than teacher performance, such as socioeconomic status, parental involvement, and health.