Four years of pandemic-era emergency licenses: retention and effectiveness of emergency-licensed Massachusetts teachers over time
Ben Backes,
James Cowan,
Dan Goldhaber and
Roddy Theobald
Economics of Education Review, 2024, vol. 101, issue C
Abstract:
Most states responded to the onset of the pandemic by granting temporary licenses that allowed teachers to work in classrooms without first passing the typical licensure exams. In this paper, we examine the result of this policy in Massachusetts using data on multiple cohorts of emergency licensed teachers (ELTs). We find that ELTs were slightly more likely to be retained in the same school than teachers from other entry routes. However, ELTs’ students scored significantly lower on standardized tests in math and science than other students in the same school and same year. Our findings are at odds with earlier, more positive assessments of emergency licensure. Our updated results appear to be driven by more recent cohorts of ELTs. Overall, this study suggests policymakers should be cautious when drawing sweeping conclusions about the impacts of teacher licensure based solely on the earliest cohort of teachers who obtained pandemic-era licenses.
Keywords: Teacher licensure; Licensure testing; Pandemic-era policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:101:y:2024:i:c:s0272775724000566
DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2024.102562
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