Andrew Bacher-Hicks
Teacher Licensure and Workforce Quality: Insights from Covid-Era Emergency Licenses in Massachusetts
Topics: Teacher and Leader DevelopmentMuch recent debate among policymakers and policy advocates focuses on whether states should reduce teacher licensure requirements to ease the burdens of recruiting high quality teachers to the workforce. We examine the effectiveness of individuals who entered the teacher workforce in… more →
Who becomes a teacher when entry requirements are reduced? An analysis of emergency licenses in Massachusetts
Topics: Teacher and Leader DevelopmentThe COVID-19 pandemic disrupted teacher candidates’ capacity to complete licensure requirements. In response, many states temporarily reduced professional entry requirements to prevent a pandemic-induced teacher shortage. Using mixed methods, we examine the role of the emergency teaching license… more →
The Stickiness of Pandemic-Driven Disenrollment from Public Schools
Topics: School ChoiceThe extent to which pandemic-induced public school enrollment declines will persist is unclear. Student-level data from Michigan through fall 2021 yields three relevant findings. First, relative to pre-pandemic trends, fall 2021 enrollment had partially recovered for low-income, Black, and… more →
Two Years Later: How COVID-19 has Shaped the Teacher Workforce
The unprecedented challenges of teaching during COVID-19 prompted fears of a mass exodus from the profession. We examine the extent to which these fears were realized using administrative records of Massachusetts teachers between 2015-16 and 2021-22. Relative to pre-pandemic levels, average… more →
The Pandemic’s Effect on Demand for Public Schools, Homeschooling, and Private Schools
Topics: School ChoiceTags: Covid-19 recoveryThe Covid-19 pandemic drastically disrupted the functioning of U.S. public schools, potentially changing the relative appeal of alternatives such as homeschooling and private schools. Using longitudinal student-level administrative data from Michigan and nationally representative data from the… more →
The COVID-19 Pandemic Disrupted Both School Bullying and Cyberbullying
School bullying is widespread and has substantial social costs. One in five U.S. high school students report being bullied each school year and these students face greater risks of serious mental health challenges that extend into adulthood. As the COVID-19 pandemic forced most students into… more →
Inequality in Household Adaptation to Schooling Shocks: Covid-Induced Online Learning Engagement in Real Time
We use high frequency internet search data to study in real time how US households sought out online learning resources as schools closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. By April 2020, nationwide search intensity for both school- and parent-centered online learning resources had roughly doubled… more →