Joyce Foundation Teacher Pensions
This research focuses on how different retirement systems might shape the teacher workforce. We are investigating this relationship by examining a natural experiment in Washington State in which, over different time periods, the state offered teachers a choice between a traditional defined benefit (DB) retirement plan and a hybrid retirement plan that combines a DB component with a defined contribution (DC) component.
The question at issue is whether different types of teachers prefer one plan structure over the other, and whether these preferences have implications for the quality of the teacher workforce.
We have access to detailed data on teacher retirement choices as well as data that allows us to link teachers to students over time. This allows what we believe will be the first quantitative study that looks directly at the workforce implications of teacher choices about retirement plans.
Goldhaber, D., & Grout, C. (2016). Which plan to choose? The determinants of pension system choice for public school teachers. Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, 15(1), 30-54.
Goldhaber, D., & Grout, C. (2016). Pension choices and the savings patterns of public school teachers. Education Finance and Policy, 11(4), 449-481.
Goldhaber, D., & Grout, C. (2014). Finding Common Ground in Pension Reform: Lessons from the Washington State Pension System. Bellwether Education Partners.
CLOSE X
OUR PUBLICATIONS
TEACHER RECRUITMENT & SELECTION
A long-standing researcher-practitioner partnership between CEDR and Spokane Public Schools (SPS) has connected data collected during the teacher hiring process in SPS to later teacher outcomes in SPS and other district in Washington
SCHOOL RESOURCES &
EQUITY
CEDR projects have investigated the connections between school resources (e.g., textbook adoption) and students' educational trajectories and outcomes.
POSTSECONDARY
EDUCATION
CEDR projects have explored the impact of programs like Washington's College Bound Scholarship program and students' postsecondary outcomes.
TEACHER PREPARATION & LICENSURE
CEDR projects including the Teacher Education Learning Collaborative (TELC; www.telc.us), the Improving Student Teaching Initiative (ISTI), and others have investigated the connections between specific teacher preparation experiences and measures collected during teacher licensure and later outcomes for teacher candidates.
SPECIAL EDUCATION &
CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION
CEDR has participated in several projects related to the participation of students with disabilities in career and technical education (CTE) and the extent to which this participation predicts later outcomes
TEACHER LABOR
MARKETS
THE CONNECTION BETWEEN EDUCATION SYSTEMS & LABOR MARKET OUTCOMES
CEDR projects have investigated the connections between school resources (e.g., textbook adoption) and students' educational trajectories and outcomes.
CEDR has studied processes and outcomes in the teacher labor market like teacher collective bargaining agreements, teacher quality gaps, and teacher layoffs and their connections to student achievement
TEACHER QUALIFICATIONS & EFFECTIVENESS
CEDR projects have explored the impact of programs like Washington's College Bound Scholarship program and students' postsecondary outcomes.
TEACHER
PENSIONS
CEDR researchers have studied the teacher pension system in Washington and other states and investigated the connections between pensions systems and teachers' career paths and effectiveness.