Portals into the profession: The composition, performance, and retention of NC’s early-career teachers
In this research brief, the Education Policy Initiative at Carolina (EPIC) presents updated results from our Teacher Portals analyses, a longstanding study in the UNC System Educator Quality Research Initiative. Descriptively, we find that North Carolina’s teacher workforce is predominantly composed of traditionally prepared teachers. However, recent trends show declines in the percentage of new entrants from in-state institutions and commensurate increases in the percentage of newly-hired alternative entry teachers.
These alternative entry teachers are more diverse, more likely to hold a high-need license, and more likely to work in high-need schools. Performance analyses indicate that early-career teachers from the UNC System are more effective than out-of-state prepared and alternative entry teachers. These results are modest in size but take on practical significance given the number of teachers from these preparation portals. Finally, in-state prepared teachers (from public and private institutions) are more likely to continue teaching in North Carolina than out-of-state prepared and alternative entry teachers.
Read the full brief below.