Chapter 28: Exploring the Effectiveness of Fsu-Teach Graduates: An Analysis Through the Lens of Induction

It is widely recognized that the first years of teaching are particularly challenging; new teachers have obstacles to navigate as they acclimate to the realities of the classroom and their newfound role in that classroom and the broader school context (Luft, 2007). The intensity of this struggle is reflected in the attrition rate of teachers; currently, the mode for teacher experience in the US is only one year, and after five years, 40-50% of teachers leave the classroom (Carver & Fieman-Nemser, 2009; Ingersoll & Smith, 2003). This overall rate of losing new teachers is unacceptably high, considering that most novice teachers are not as effective as their more experienced peers. That is, experience does matter, as teachers are the least effective during their first two years of teaching (National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future [NCTAF], 2003), with novices attaining maximum effectiveness between years 5-10 (Darling-Hammond, 2010).