2022/04/01 by Dillon Fuchsman, Tim R. Sass, Gema Zamarro · 1 voice
Social Sciences · #Higher Education Research Studies #Parental Involvement in Education #School Choice and Performance
paper · doi:10.1162/edfp_a_00376
openalex publication_date 2022/04/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
Abstract Teacher turnover has adverse consequences for student achievement and imposes large financial costs for schools. Some have argued that high-stakes testing may lower teachers’ satisfaction with their jobs and could be a major contributor to teacher attrition. In this paper, we exploit changes in the tested grades and subjects in Georgia to study the effects of eliminating high-stakes testing on teacher turnover and the distribution of teachers across grades and schools. To measure the effect of testing pressures on teacher mobility choices we use a difference-in-differences approach, comparing changes in mobility over time in grades/subjects that discontinue testing vis-à-vis grades/subjects that are always tested. Our results show that eliminating testing did not have an impact on the likelihood of leaving teaching, moving between districts, changing schools within a district, or changing grades. Our findings hold for all teachers as well as for the subsample of early career teachers.