The Cost of Teacher Turnover in Five School Districts: A Pilot Study

In this paper, we report the results of a pilot study of the cost of teacher turnover in five school districts. We examine the rate of turnover, the relationship between turnover and teacher and school characteristics, and the costs associated with recruiting, hiring, and training replacement teachers. We find evidence that turnover costs, although difficult to quantify, are significant at both the district and the school level. We also find that teachers left high minority and low performing schools at significantly higher rates. This has implications for the differential impact of the costs of teacher turnover on high-need schools. The relationship between teacher turnover and other school and teacher characteristics varied across the five school districts.