When teachers enter the profession during a recession, they’re more effective at boosting student test scores in math, a new paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research finds.
Recession-era teachers didn’t have as much of an effect on student reading scores. The study considers data for 33,000 fourth and fifth grade teachers in Florida public schools between 2000 and 2009. It is partly based on the notion that more highly skilled people enter teaching when the economy is bad because fewer financially stable jobs are available.
Several states have reported enrollment declines in teacher preparation programs as the job market has improved however, the study notes. And teachers starting their career during a recession are more likely to leave the profession later.
“Our results have important policy implications,” researchers say. First, they suggest that increasing the economic benefits of becoming a teacher may be an effective strategy to increase the quality of the teaching workforce. Second, they suggest that recessions may provide a window of opportunity for governments to hire more able applicants.
For more information, please visit: https://editorialexpress.com/cgi-bin/conference/download.cgi?db_name=EEAMannheim2015&paper_id=1534
