Do Professional Development Schools Reduce Teacher Attrition?

This article describes the findings from a study of professional development schools (PDS) and traditional student teaching elementary education graduates between 1996 and 2004. Specifically, the effects of teacher preparation experiences on persistence in elementary education employment were examined. The study involved mining previously collected data on teacher candidates, their entry into teaching on graduation, and their subsequent persistence in teaching. The findings indicate that even when controlling for important student background and cognitive characteristics, education in a PDS appears to significantly foster graduate's entry into and persistence in teaching. The effect sizes, although statistically significant, were small to moderate.