Who Enters Teaching? Encouraging Evidence that the Status of Teaching is Improving - Working Paper 124

Sep 14, 2026

The relatively low status of teaching as a profession is often cited as a driver of challenges in recruiting teachers, mediocre student performance on international assessments, and a documented decline in teachers’ relative academic ability through the 1990s. Since 2000, federal, state, and local accountability policies have aimed to improve teacher quality despite objections. Analyzing 25 years of New York State teacher data, the paper shows steady gains since 1999, narrowing gaps across schools and teacher groups.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages59

Reading Time2 h 29 min

AccessFree to download

Acknowledgements

Abstract

1. Introduction

2. Background

3. Data and Methods

4. Results

5. Discussion

References

Figures

Appendix: Supplemental Material

|
NATIONAL
CENTER for ANALYSIS of LONGITUDINAL DATA in EDUCATION RESEARCH

TRACKING EVERY STUDENT’S LEARNING EVERY YEAR
A program of research by the American Institutes for Research with Duke University, Northwestern University, Stanford University, University of Missouri-Columbia, University of Texas at Dallas, and University of Washington | | --- | | | Who Enters Teaching? Encouraging Evidence that the Status of Teaching is Improving HAMIL T ON LANK FO RD SUSANNA LO EB ANDREW Mc EACH IN LUKE C . MILLER JAMES WYCKO FF WORKING PAPER 1 24 • NOVEMBER 201 4 Who Enters Teaching? Encouraging Evidence that the Status of Teaching is Improving Acknowledgements....................................................................................................................................... ii Abstract ........................................................................................................................................................ iii 1. Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 4 2. Background ............................................................................................................................................... 9 3. Data and Methods .................................................................................................................................. 12 4. Results ..................................................................................................................................................... 14 5. Discussion................................................................................................................................................ 22 References .................................................................................................................................................. 25 Figures ......................................................................................................................................................... 28 Appendix: Supplemental Material .............................................................................................................. 34 Acknowledgements We are grateful to the College Board and the New York State Education Department for the data employed in this paper. We also appreciate financial support from the National Center for the Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research (CALDER) . CALDER is supported by IES Grant R305A060018 . The research was also supported by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through Grant R305B100009 to the University of Virginia. We thank David Deming, Joseph Frey, Dan Goldhaber, Betheny Gross, Morgan Polikoff, and three anonymous reviewers for the many helpful comments they provided on earlier versions of this paper. The views expressed in the paper are solely those of the authors and may not reflect those of the funders. Any errors are attributable to the authors. CALDER working papers have not undergone final formal review and should not be cited or distributed without permission from the authors. They are intended to encourage discussion and suggestions for revision before final publication. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the American Institutes for Research, its trustees, or any of the funders or supporting organizations mentioned herein. Any errors are attributable to the authors. CALDER • American Institutes for Research 1000 Thomas Jefferson Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20007 202-403-5796 • [www.caldercenter.org](www.caldercenter.org) Who Enters Teaching? Encouraging Evidence that the Status of Teaching is Improving Hamilton Lankford, Susanna Loeb, Andrew McEachin, Luke C. Miller, and James Wyckoff CALDER Working Paper No. 124 November 2014 Abstract The relatively low status

FAQs

What problem does the paper address about the teaching profession?

It examines how teaching’s relatively low professional status is linked to recruiting difficulties, student performance concerns, and declines in teachers’ relative academic ability.

What does the paper analyze and over what time span?

It analyzes 25 years of data on the academic ability of teachers in New York State, focusing on trends from 1999 onward.

What are the paper’s main findings about teacher academic ability?

The paper finds steady increases in academic ability for both certified individuals and those entering teaching, with gains that narrow differences across high- and low-poverty schools and across white and minority teachers.

Sep 14, 2026

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