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New Teacher Induction: Mississippi

Retaining Effective Teachers Policy

Look at National Findings
Goal

The state should require effective induction for all new teachers, with special emphasis on teachers in high-need schools.

Meets goal in part
Suggested Citation:
National Council on Teacher Quality. (2015). New Teacher Induction: Mississippi results. State Teacher Policy Database. [Data set].
Retrieved from: https://www.nctq.org/yearbook/state/MS-New-Teacher-Induction-72

Analysis of Mississippi's policies

Mississippi does not require that all new teachers receive mentoring. 

Districts wishing to provide mentoring and induction to all teachers can apply to participate in the state's beginning teacher program. Although Mississippi does not mandate that all new teachers participate in this program, districts wishing to participate must adhere to the following guidelines. Each beginning teacher support program must include:

  • Direct classroom observation and consultation assistance in instructional planning and preparation support in implementation, and delivery of classroom instruction
  • Minimum of 90 hours of contact between mentors and new teachers
  • At least three years of teaching experience for mentors, who also must successfully complete an approved training program.
  • Compensation paid to mentors by districts
  • Release time for additional duties granted by districts.
In addition, districts must provide a "description of the amount and nature of each eligible beginning teacher's classroom and extracurricular duties and assurance that these duties are not unreasonable for a beginning teacher."

Mississippi does mandate that alternate route teachers participate in a "beginning teacher mentoring and induction program, administered by the employing school district." However, this does not necessarily specify the state's optional beginning teacher program.

Citation

Recommendations for Mississippi

Make induction programs mandatory.
Mississippi should build on its strong mentor program requirements by directing every district to provide new teachers with high-quality mentoring.

Expand guidelines to include other key areas.
While still leaving districts with flexibility, Mississippi should articulate minimum guidelines for a high-quality induction experience. Mentors should be required to be trained in the content area or grade level similar to that of the new teacher. The state should set a timeline in which mentors are assigned to all new teachers to offer support during the critical first weeks of school, and it should require program evaluation.

Select high-quality mentors. 
Mississippi should establish criteria for the selection of high-quality mentors. It is particularly important that the mentors themselves are effective teachers. Teachers without evidence of effectiveness should not serve as mentors.

State response to our analysis

Mississippi recognized the factual accuracy of this analysis. However, this analysis was updated subsequent to the state's review.

    • Best practice
    • Meets goal
    • Nearly Meets goal
    • Meets goal in part
    • Meets a small part of goal
    • Does not meet goal

  • Mississippi

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Professional Development
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Delivering Well Prepared Teachers
Expanding the Pool of Teachers
Identifying Effective Teachers
Retaining Effective Teachers
Exiting Ineffective Teachers
Pensions
Research rationale

Too many new teachers are left to "sink or swim" when they begin teaching.
Most new teachers are overwhelmed and undersupported at the outset of their teaching careers. Although differences in preparation programs and routes to the classroom do affect readiness, even teachers from the most rigorous programs need support once they take on the myriad responsibilities of their own classroom. A survival-of-the-fittest mentality prevails in many schools; figuring out how to successfully negotiate unfamiliar curricula, discipline and management issues and labyrinthine school and district procedures is considered a rite of passage. However, new teacher frustrations are not limited to low performers. Many talented new teachers become disillusioned early by the lack of support they receive, and it may be the most talented who will more likely explore other career options.

Vague requirements simply to provide mentoring are insufficient.
Although many states recognize the need to provide mentoring to new teachers, state policies merely indicating that mentoring should occur will not ensure that districts provide new teachers with quality mentoring experiences. While allowing flexibility for districts to develop and implement programs in line with local priorities and resources, states also should articulate the minimum requirements for these programs in terms of the frequency and duration of mentoring and the qualifications of those serving as mentors.

New teachers in high-need schools particularly need quality mentoring.
Retaining effective teachers in high-need schools is especially challenging. States should ensure that districts place special emphasis on mentoring programs in these schools, particularly when limited resources may prevent the district from providing mentoring to all new teachers.

Induction: Supporting Research
Although many states have induction policies, the overall support for new teachers in the United States is fragmented due to wide variation in legislation, policy and type of support available. There are a number of good sources describing the more systematic induction models used in high-performing countries:
Attracting, Developing and Retaining Effective Teachers – Final Report: Teachers Matter, a 2005 publication by the OECD, examines (among many other factors) the role that induction plays for developing the quality of the teaching force in 25 countries. For shorter synopses, consult Lynn Olson, "Teaching Policy to Improve Student Learning: Lessons from Abroad," 2007. http://www.edweek.org/media/aspen_viewpoint.pdf
Educational Testing Service's Preparing Teachers Around the World (2003) examines reasons why seven countries perform better than the United States on the TIMSS and includes induction models in its analysis.
Domestically, evidence of the impact of teacher induction in improving the retention and performance of first-year teachers is growing. See Impacts of Comprehensive Teacher Induction: Results from the Second Year of a Randomized Controlled Study. National Center for Educational Evaluation and Regional Assistance. Institute of Education Sciences, Department of Education, NCEE 2009-4072, August 2009.

A California study found that a good induction program, including mentoring, was generally more effective in keeping teachers on the job than better pay. See D. Reed, K. Rueben, and E. Barbour, "Retention of New Teachers in California," Public Policy Institute of California, 2006.

Descriptive qualitative papers provide some information on the nature of mentoring and other induction activities and may improve understanding of the causal mechanisms by which induction may lead to improved teacher practices and better retention. A report from the Alliance for Excellent Education presents four case studies on induction models that it found to be effective. See Tapping the Potential: Retaining and Developing High-Quality New Teachers, Alliance for Excellent Education at:  http://all4ed.org/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/TappingThePotential.pdf.

For evidence of the importance of high quality mentors, see C. Carver and S. Feiman-Nemser, "Using Policy to Improve Teacher Induction: Critical Elements and Missing Pieces."  Educational Policy, Volume 23, No. 2, March 2009, pp. 295-328 as well as K. Jackson and E. Bruegmann in "Teaching Students and Teaching Each Other: The Importance of Peer Learning for Teachers." American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, Volume 1, No. 4, October 2009, pp. 85-108. See also H. Wong, "Induction Programs that Keep New Teachers Teaching and Improving," NASSP Bulletin, Volume 88, No. 638, March 2004, pp. 44-58.
For a further review of the research on new teacher induction see M. Rogers, A. Lopez, A. Lash, M. Schaffner, P. Shields, and M. Wagner, "Review of Research on the Impact of Beginning Teacher Induction on Teacher Quality and Retention," ED Contract ED-01-CO-0059/0004, SRI Project P14173, SRI International, 2004.

The issue of high turnover in teachers' early years particularly plagues schools that serve poor children and children of color. Much of the focus of concern about this issue has been on urban schools, but rural schools that serve poor communities also suffer from high turnover of new teachers.

Research on the uneven distribution of teachers (in terms of teacher quality) suggests that, indeed, a good portion of the so-called "achievement gap" may be attributable to what might be thought of as a "teaching gap," reported by many including L. Feng and T. Sass, "Teacher Quality and Teacher Mobility," Calder Institute, Working Paper 57, January 2011; T. Sass, J. Hannaway, Z. Xu, D. Figlio, and L. Feng, "Value Added of Teachers in High-Poverty Schools and Lower-Poverty Schools," Calder Institute, Working Paper 52, November 2010; and C. Clotfelter, H. Ladd, and J. Vigdor, "Who Teaches Whom? Race and Distribution of Novice Teachers," Economics of Education Review, Volume 24, 2005, pp. 377-392.

See also B. White, J. Presley, and K. DeAngelis, "Leveling Up: Narrowing the Teacher Academic Capital Gap in Illinois," Illinois Education Research Council, Policy Research Report: IERC 2008-1, 44 p.

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