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Reviews evidence from studies that compare teacher cohorts and contrasts it with longitudinal approaches using teacher fixed effects, which control for differences in teacher quality over time. 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The brief finds teachers continue to improve after their initial years, though not as quickly as during the first few years.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"What conditions make teachers most likely to improve?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"Improvement is most likely in supportive schools that enable collaboration with experienced colleagues and provide stable teaching assignments.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"How should policymakers retain experienced, effective teachers in high-poverty schools?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"The recommendations emphasize affordable preparation and mentoring, ongoing professional learning, supportive administrator practices, equitable distribution of experienced teachers, and paying teachers in these schools well.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},587788,1792190432,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":29,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":4},962085570644,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_994ba38a5ba835b3df7d355c54d3ed8d","About Fordham  \nThe Thomas B. Fordham Institute promotes educational excellence for every child in America via quality research, analysis, and commentary, as well as advocacy and exemplary charter school authorizing in Ohio. It is affiliated with the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, and this publication is a joint project of the Foundation and the Institute. For further information, please visit our website at [fordhaminstitute.org. The](fordhaminstitute.org. The) Institute is neither connected with nor sponsored by Fordham University.  \nSuggested Citation  \nPodolsky, Anne, and Linda Darling-Hammond. Think Again: Do the Returns to Teacher Experience Fizzle Out? Washington, D.C.: Thomas B. Fordham Institute, June 2025.  \n[https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/research/think-again-do-returns-teacher-experience](https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/research/think-again-do-returns-teacher-experience)fizzle-out  \nAcknowledgments  \nThis brief was made possible through the generous support of our sister organization, the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation. We are deeply grateful to the authors, Anne Podolsky and Linda Darling-Hammond, for their diligence and their willingness to share their expertise on this important topic. We also extend our gratitude to external reviewer John Papay for his thoughtful feedback on an early draft. At Fordham, we would like to thank Michael J. Petrilli, Amber M. Northern, and David Griffith (who managed the project) for reviewing drafts; Victoria McDougald for her role in dissemination; Stephanie Distler for developing the cover art and coordinating production; and our research assistants, Heena Kuwuyama, Ali Schalop, and Jill Hoppe.  \nAt LPI, Anne and Linda would like to thank their colleague Tara Kini, who was part of the research team that conducted the original research published in the Journal of Professional Capital and Community.  \nExecutive Summary  \nFor many years, the conventional wisdom was that teachers’ experience had little bearing on their effectiveness after a few years on the job. This perception has sometimes been used to justify underinvestment in policies aimed at retaining teachers. Yet most rigorous studies over the past two decades have found that, on average, teachers continue to improve as they accumulate additional experience, especially in environments that support professional learning and collaboration.  \nKey Questions  \nIn this brief, we address three key questions about the value of teaching experience:  \nQuestion 1: Do teachers keep improving after their first few years on the job?  \nAnswer: Yes, though generally not as quickly as they do in the first few years.  \nQuestion 2: Under what conditions are teachers most likely to improve?  \nAnswer: Teachers are most likely to improve when they work in supportive schools where they can collaborate with experienced colleagues and have stable teaching assignments.  \nQuestion 3: How can we retain experienced and effective teachers, especially in our highest-poverty schools?  \nAnswer: By creating high-retention pathways into the teaching profession, cultivating supportive and collegial work environments, and paying teachers in these schools well.  \nThe Bottom Line  \nThe common refrain that teaching experience doesn’t matter after the first few years in the classroom is not supported by the evidence. Rather, it has become increasingly clear that teachers continue to improve well into the second decade of teaching, albeit more gradually than they do initially.  \nRecommendations  \n1. Make high-quality preparation and mentoring affordable and accessible, especially for teachers in high-need schools.  \n2. Provide quality professional learning opportunities to support teachers’ continued growth.  \n3. Prepare school administrators for the task of creating positive, professional, and collaborative working environments.  \n4. Strengthen policies that encourage a more equitable distribution of experienced teachers.  \nThink Again: Do the returns to ","cbCaivUWggitxJ94","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaivUWggitxJ94","pdf",1052322,18,"English","# Executive Summary\n# Key Questions\n# Recommendations\n# Introduction\n## Research approach and evidence framing (cross-sectional vs. fixed effects)\n## Evidence limitations and modeling experience","[{\"question\":\"Do teachers keep improving after the first few years on the job?\",\"answer\":\"Yes. The brief finds teachers continue to improve after their initial years, though not as quickly as during the first few years.\"},{\"question\":\"What conditions make teachers most likely to improve?\",\"answer\":\"Improvement is most likely in supportive schools that enable collaboration with experienced colleagues and provide stable teaching assignments.\"},{\"question\":\"How should policymakers retain experienced, effective teachers in high-poverty schools?\",\"answer\":\"The recommendations emphasize affordable preparation and mentoring, ongoing professional learning, supportive administrator practices, equitable distribution of experienced teachers, and paying teachers in these schools well.\"}]","Think Again: Do the returns to teacher experience fizzle out? | PDF",1792063058,45]