New Findings on the Retention of Novice Teachers from Teaching Residency Programs

This brief updates earlier study findings (Silva et al. 2014) regarding the extent to which teachers trained through teaching residency programs (TRPs) funded through the U.S. Department of Education’s Teacher Quality Partnership grants program are retained in their districts and schools. TRPs prepare new teachers primarily through a year-long residency in a high-need school and integrated coursework leading to a master’s degree. This brief examines two cohorts of novice TRP teachers—those who were in their first year of teaching and those who were in their second year of teaching during the 2011–2012 school year. It looks at the rates at which the TRP teachers were retained in the same district or the same school as of fall 2013. To provide contextual information, the study also includes a representative sample of teachers who were in their first or second year of teaching during the 2011–2012 school year and were trained through other (non-TRP) programs. The retention analyses focus on teachers from six districts served by 12 TRPs.