Retention of New Teachers in California

California public schools face a number of challenges, including low academic performance and a shortage of fully credentialed teachers. One way to address these challenges is through teacher retention, since experienced teachers tend to be both more effective and fully credentialed. In this report, the authors find that professional development and compensation programs implemented during the 1990s contributed to a significant decrease in teacher turnover by the end of the decade. Professional development programs, in particular, were a successful and cost-effective way to increase teacher retention.