Retention, Attrition, and Mobility Among Teachers and Administrators in West Virginia

Members of the West Virginia School Leadership Research Alliance partnered with Regional Educational Laboratory Appalachia to study the average retention, attrition, and mobility rates among teachers and administrators in the West Virginia public school system. There is increasing evidence nationwide that low teacher and administrator retention rates adversely affect student academic outcomes, particularly in reading and math, which are reform priorities in many states (Beteille, Kalogrides, & Loeb, 2012; Branch, Hanushek, & Rivkin, 2012; Kane & Staiger, 2008; Ronfeldt, Lankford, Loeb, & Wyckoff, 2013). West Virginia policymakers and educators have thus expressed interest in increasing teacher and administrator retention rates to improve student achievement. This report provides descriptive information about retention, attrition, and mobility among teachers and administrators that can be used to inform policy and program decisionmaking in West Virginia. The analyses were based on personnel data for teachers and administrators provided by the West Virginia Department of Education for the academic years 2008/09-2012/13, as well as district information covering the same years from the National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data. Unless otherwise stated, the retention, attrition, and mobility rates are annual averages for the academic years examined. Three appendices are included: (1) Data and methodology; (2) Average retention, attrition, and mobility rates among teachers and administrators by West Virginia public school district (data table); and (3) Cumulative attrition rates among beginning teachers in West Virginia public school districts (data table).