Teacher Sorting and the Plight of Urban Schools: A Descriptive Analysis

TLDR

The study aims to map variation in teacher qualifications across New York State schools, identify schools with the least‑qualified teachers, and assess how attrition, transfers, and initial job matches influence this distribution over time. It does so by analyzing rich new data on New York State teachers. The analysis reveals stark disparities in teacher qualifications, with urban schools—especially New York City—having the least‑qualified teachers, disproportionately affecting low‑income, low‑achieving, and non‑white students, while salary differences rarely offset these inequities and sometimes exacerbate them.

Abstract

This paper uses rich new data on New York State teachers to: determine how much variation in the average attributes of teachers exists across schools, identify schools that have the least-qualified teachers, assess whether the distribution has changed over time, and determine how the distribution of teachers is impacted by attrition and transfer, as well as by the job matches between teachers and schools at the start of careers. Our results show striking differences in the qualifications of teachers across schools. Urban schools, in particular, have lesser-qualified teachers; and New York City stands out among urban areas. Low-income, low-achieving and non-white students, particularly those in urban areas, find themselves in classes with many of the least skilled teachers. Salary variation rarely compensates for the apparent difficulties of teaching in urban settings and, in some cases, contributes to the disparities.