Teaching Quality: An Unexamined Element of Special Education Teacher Turnover

Abstract

Little is known about the quality of the special educators who move schools, switch to general education, or leave teaching. In this study, the author examined if turnover (moving schools within a district, moving schools between districts, switching to general education, or leaving teaching in the state) was associated with two common indicators of teacher quality: value-added scores or teaching observation scores. On average, special educators’ probability of leaving teaching in the state declined as their value-added score increased, after accounting for the characteristics of teachers, their students, and their schools. Observation scores were similarly negatively associated with leaving and with moving within or between districts. Eight percent of special educators switched to general education positions, and the probability of switching was not associated with teachers’ value-added or observation scores. The author discusses the implications for ensuring schools retain effective special educators while noting the limitations of current measures of special educator quality used in practice.