Exploring the Moderated Mediation of Student Demographics and Teacher Turnover on Teacher Working Conditions Effect on Student Achievement in North Carolina

Teacher working conditions, teacher turnover, and student achievement are examined from North Carolina. For over 10 years, teacher working conditions have been used as a policy tool to better understand how these conditions are linked to school performance and teacher retention. Previous studies have examined working conditions and achievement; however, this study used a moderated mediation model to examine the when and how causal relationships of these measures. The purpose of the paper is to provide policymakers and educational leaders relevant information about the power of teacher working conditions to influence teacher turnover and student achievement, controlling for student characteristics. The results of the study show (a) current year teacher working conditions have direct effects on teacher turnover and on student performance, (b) current or previous year teacher turnover have no direct effects on student performance, and (c) teacher turnover mediates teacher working conditions on student achievement