Factors Influencing Retention of Mathematics and Science Teachers in Secondary Schools--A Study Based on SASS/TFS

Shortages of qualified science and mathematics teachers are a ubiquitous problem in the United States. Many schools face both sides of the problem: recruitment and retention of those teachers. Since bringing new teachers in and keeping them are equally important, where should school districts look for teachers that are most likely to stay? While many school districts cannot afford to be too choosy in where they look, their limited resources also mean that they cannot look everywhere. Therefore, information on who are more likely to stay may be valuable for districts to focus their resources for maximum impact. Using a sample of mathematics and science teachers extracted from the "Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) of 1999-2000" and the "Teacher Follow-up Survey (TFS) of 2000-2001," connections between teacher and school district characteristics regarding retention are investigated to offer insight into how mathematics/science teacher recruitment might be focused. (Contains 2 figures, 1 table and 3 footnotes.)