At a Glance

Funder:

U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences

Project Time Frame:

2007-2012

Talent Transfer Initiative: Attracting and Retaining High-Performing Teachers in Low-Performing Schools

Research shows that high quality teachers are critical to raising student achievement, but the schools that need the most improvement often have trouble attracting and retaining high quality teachers. Although the nature of the problem is well documented, research has failed to produce empirical evidence on the impacts of interventions aimed at recruiting and retaining effective teachers.

Mathematica was selected by the U.S. Department of Education to develop, implement, and study an effort to use teacher transfer incentives in selected school districts. Known as the Talent Transfer Initiative, the intervention identified a district’s high-performing teachers and offered them incentives for moving to and staying in its low-performing schools for up to two years. The study focused on reading/language arts and math instruction in grades 3 to 8. The intervention was pilot tested in one district, where it was known as Project RISE, and was scaled up to include additional districts for the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 school years.

Using a rigorous design, the study gave school districts valuable guidance on the following questions:

Will a large financial incentive ($10,000 a year, for two years) encourage high-performing teachers to transfer to selected low-performing schools in their district?
Will the high-performing teachers that transfer to low-performing schools be successful in raising the achievement of their students in the new setting?

How TTI Worked

Teacher identification and recruitment. High-performing teachers within a district were identified by the contribution they made to students’ test scores using “value-added” analysis. High-performing teachers who were not already teaching at low-performing schools were invited to apply. Those already teaching in such schools were offered retention incentives.

School identification and recruitment. The study team worked with district personnel to identify eligible schools. To be eligible, schools must have had low test scores and a vacancy in a tested grade and subject. Principals of eligible schools were invited to sign up for the program. In each district, an average of eight schools were selected and given a chance to hire at least one high-performing teacher.

Transfer support. Site managers with The New Teacher Project (TNTP) worked with local district staff to create opportunities for principals to interview high-performing teachers and help with the transfer process.

Teacher benefits. High-performing teachers who accepted new positions in the low-performing schools received a stipend of $10,000 per year for up to two years. High-performing teachers who kept their current positions in low-performing schools received a stipend of $5,000 per year for up to two years.

Who Implemented TTI?

TNTP worked in partnership with the following ten districts to implement the Talent Transfer Initiative:

Added in 2008
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Charlotte, NC

Added in 2009
Guilford County Schools, Greensboro, NC
Knox County Schools, Knoxville, TN
Mobile County Schools, Mobile, AL
Houston Independent School District, Houston, TX
Tucson Unified School District, Tucson, AZ
Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools, Winston-Salem, NC

Added in 2010
Los Angeles Unified School District, Los Angeles, CA
Sacramento City Unified School District, Sacramento, CA
Miami-Dade County Schools, Miami, FL

Publications

"Moving High-Performing Teachers: Implementation of Transfer Incentives in Seven Districts" Executive Summary (April 2012)
"Do Low-Income Students Have Equal Access to the Highest Performing Teachers?" Technical Appendix (April 2011)

Education Topics