NCTAF Research Reports

New! Building a 21st Century U.S. Education System

Robert Wehling and the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future have published a book that brings together the visionary thinking of some of the nation’s finest education thought leaders and presents a diverse set of strategies and solutions to provide every child with a high-quality, world-class educational opportunity.

Reducing the Achievement Gap Through District/Union Collaboration: The Tale of Two School Districts (Full Report)

On November 13, 2007, the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future (NCTAF) released a report that documents the journey of two school districts to improve teaching quality and reduce gaps in student achievement. The report highlights the progress, challenges and lessons learned from two districts (Clark County, NV and Hamilton County, TN) that are at the forefront of addressing achievement gaps through collaboration of the local teachers' union and the school district. The strategies employed by these two districts and outlined in the report help to ensure that educators remain at the center of reform efforts in their districts and schools. Their stories are proof that unions and districts can collaborate successfully to improve student achievement.

Reducing the Achievement Gap Through District/Union Collaboration: The Tale of Two School Districts (Summary Report)

See details above.

Pilot Study: The Cost of Teacher Turnover in Five School Districts (June 2007)

In 2007, the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future (NCTAF) completed an 18-month study of the costs of teacher turnover in five school districts – Chicago Public Schools (Chicago, Illinois), Milwaukee Public Schools (Milwaukee, Wisconsin), Granville County Schools (Granville, North Carolina), Jemez Valley Public Schools (New Mexico), and Santa Rosa Public Schools (New Mexico).

Policy Brief: The High Cost of Teacher Turnover (June 2007)

The National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future (NCTAF) estimates that the national cost of public school teacher turnover could be over $7.3 billion a year. In addition to the nation losing billions of dollars, the policy brief shows that this constant churn drains resources, diminishes teaching quality, and undermines our ability to close the student achievement gap. The policy brief provides NCTAF's recommendations for controlling costs and improving teaching quality.

Induction Into Learning Communities (August 2005)
This is NCTAF's policy paper on induction for new teachers. The paper presents NCTAF's vision for new teacher induction into strong schools that support a career of continuous professional growth. The paper examines data on induction's impact on teacher retention and emerging information on induction's effects on improving student learning, and goes in-depth on models of strong mentoring programs in the U.S. and comprehensive induction systems in other countries.

TLINC - Evaluation Report (August 2005)
In 2003 the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future convened a design team to launch the Teachers Learning in Networked Communities (TLINC) project. The initial one-year phase, funded by AT&T, involved a TLINC design team partnered with four communities, Pueblo, CO; Seattle, WA; Portland, ME; and Socorro, TX. The intent of that phase was to investigate how districts might incorporate networked learning communities into their school systems to improve professional practices, especially those related to new teacher induction.

Special Report: Fifty Years After Brown v. Board of Education : A Two-Tiered Education System (2004)
As we mark the fiftieth anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education , millions of low income students and children of color are concentrated in separate and unequal schools. To understand the extent of this problem NCTAF's staff analyzed the responses of 3,336 teachers in California, Wisconsin, and New York who were randomly surveyed by the Peter Harris Research Group. The findings paint a chilling picture of a two-tiered education system - one for the more affluent, who enjoy the advantages of a relatively healthy educational environment, and the other for the least privileged, who suffer an educational environment, that in many cases, virtually forecloses their chance of learning.

Full Report: No Dream Denied: A Pledge to America's Children (January 2003)
This report highlights the need for a coordinated system of teacher recruitment, quality teacher preparation, clinical practice, induction, mentorship, and continuing professional development, with accountability built in at each stage, for ensuring high-quality teaching for all students.

No Dream Denied: A Pledge to America's Children (January 2003) - Summary Report
This report summarized the findings of the No Dream Denied: A Pledge to America's Children - Full Report.

No Dream Denied: A Pledge to America's Children-Powerpoint presentation
This slide presentation outlines the findings of the No Dream Denied: A Pledge to America's Children full report.

Unraveling the "Teacher Shortage" Problem: Teacher Retention is the Key (2002)
In August 2002, former NCTAF Chairman James Hunt and President Tom Carroll presented evidence to NCTAF's commissioners and partner states suggesting that the nation's widely publicized and often-lamented teacher shortages are, in fact, symptoms resulting from a teacher retention crisis in the United States. To view or download the charts and statistics, please click here.

Solving The Dilemmas of Teacher Supply, Demand, and Standards: How We Can Ensure A Competent, Caring, and Qualified Teacher For Every Child (2002)
States and communities that have chosen to invest in the recruitment, support, and retention of well-prepared teachers in all schools have been able to pursue excellence and equity. Their efforts appear to have substantial payoff. With carefully crafted policies that rest upon professional standards, invest in serious preparation, and make access to knowledge a priority for all teachers, it is possible to imagine a day when each student will, in fact, have a competent, caring, and qualified teacher.

The Research and Rhetoric on Teacher Certification: A Response to "Teacher Certification Reconsidered" (2001)
Linda Darling-Hammond responds to the Abell Foundation's report "Teacher Certification Reconsidered: Stumbling for Quality," which questions the link between teacher certification and teacher quality.

Teaching for High Standards: What Policymakers Need to Know and Be Able to Do (1998)
This report discusses the relationship between teacher knowledge and student performance. It suggests the kinds of education and professional development that teachers need in order to learn how to teach to high standards. It also highlights what different states are doing to provide these opportunities for teacher learning, and with what effects.

Doing What Matters Most: Investing in Quality Teaching (1997)
This report offers what we believe is the single most important strategy for achieving America's educational goals: A blueprint for recruiting, preparing, and supporting excellent teachers in all of America's schools. The plan is aimed at ensuring that all communities have teachers with the knowledge and skills they need to teach so that all children can learn, and all school systems are organized to support teachers in this work.

What Matters Most: Teaching for America's Future (1996)
This report provides a blueprint for recruiting, preparing, and supporting excellent teachers all across America in an effort to ensure that all children can learn. It describes a new infrastructure for professional learning and an accountability system that guarantees attention to standards for educators as well as students at every level.