Chad Aldeman

5 days ago | chadaldeman.com | Chad Aldeman

If you work in education, you’ve likely heard the claim that schools have narrowed the curriculum to focus primarily on reading and math—often blaming No Child Left Behind or similar federal policies for driving this shift. If you believe this, you might be surprised to learn that the evidence for curriculum narrowing is quite thin. There is some evidence that elementary teachers have shifted their time allocations slightly toward reading and math.

6 days ago | yahoo.com | Chad Aldeman

In a recent analysis, Katherine Bowser of the National Council on Teacher Quality finds that teachers are increasingly being priced out of housing in their communities. She notes that, between 2019 and 2024, the percentage growth in home prices and the cost of renting a one-bedroom apartment have significantly outpaced increases in both inflation and teacher salaries. In short, teachers face, “a widening gap between income and housing affordability,” according to NCTQ President Heather Peske.

2 weeks ago | chadaldeman.com | Chad Aldeman

I have a new piece out at The 74 this week taking a look at the latest teacher turnover numbers. Despite what you may have heard, teacher turnover rates appear to be trending downward. Here’s the key chart: The data come from a range of state dashboards and research reports, and they all paint a pretty similar picture: Turnover rates fell in the fall of 2020, when the economy was in rough shape and schools were mostly still closed. Then they started to tick up in 2021 and especially in 2022.

2 weeks ago | yahoo.com | Chad Aldeman

According to the latest data, teacher turnover rates have been coming down for the last two years. That finding comes from a hodgepodge of state documents and research reports. With the caveat that those sources may count things in slightly different ways and at different time periods, the pattern that emerges is consistent. In fall 2020, the country was still in the thick of the COVID pandemic. The economy was on uncertain footing, many schools stayed remote and teacher turnover rates fell.

3 weeks ago | chadaldeman.com | Chad Aldeman

Early in my career, I made a big financial mistake. At my first professional job I was offered a retirement plan with a 3-year vesting period. If I stayed at least three years, I would “vest” and qualify for my employer’s 4% contributions into my retirement account. If I left before the 3-year mark, I would forfeit all or most of those contributions. I don’t remember the exact specifics anymore, but I was offered a new job somewhere around month 32 or 33.