Money's Worth for New Teachers

Spend your money on mentoring new teachers, says a new report by the New Teacher Center. Not surprising that a center that provides training to new teachers would issue a report saying we should provide training to new teachers... But the findings by themselves are compelling. Their cost-benefit analysis, released yesterday at a Hill briefing, finds that for every $1 spent on new teacher induction, the return to society by year 5 is an impressive $1.66. At the district level, that translates to $1.88 for every dollar invested. The report adds to a growing body of work that supports beginning teacher induction as a cost-effective strategy to improve the overall quality of the teacher workforce.

For district and state leaders thinking about this approach, which they should, the Center's report estimates a per teacher cost of about $6,600 for a program that supports 119 new teachers (total cost of $786,000 for the district program). There's a much more detailed breakdown of costs, and benefits, in the full report here.