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Background

Twenty-five years ago the modal category of experience in the U.S. teacher workforce was 15 years. Today, the modal experience category is first-year teachers, and one-quarter of the teacher workforce— both nationally and in North Carolina—has less than five years’ experience. This change in the teacher workforce raises concerns for three reasons. First, on average, beginning teachers are significantly less effective at raising student achievement than their more experienced peers. Second, beginning teachers are significantly more likely to exit the profession, with one-third leaving teaching during their first three years. The turnover costs school districts approximately $12,900 per departing teacher and often results in the hiring of beginning teachers to fill open positions. Finally, since beginning teachers are more likely to work in high-need schools, these impacts are disproportionately experienced by students most in need of high-quality teachers. In collaboration with the Council of Education Deans, the University of North Carolina included the North Carolina New Teacher Support Program (NC NTSP) as part of the state’s Race to the Top (RttT) proposal to improve the performance and retention of beginning teachers in the state’s lowest-performing schools.