(Press-News.org) Studies show that teacher turnover has a negative impact on students’ academic performance, but little is known about other ways that their departures affect student behavior. In a new study of New York City public schools, researchers found that teacher turnover is linked to higher rates of student suspensions and requests from teachers seeking disciplinary action, known as office disciplinary referrals (ODR).
“Teacher turnover has generally been studied for its impact on student achievement, but there are a host of reasons to expect that turnover, which creates disruption and instability, would also lead to more disciplinary infractions and suspensions,” says lead author Luis Rodriguez, associate professor of educational leadership and policy studies at NYU Steinhardt. “Replacing teachers disrupts existing teacher–student relationships and can also lead to the loss of crucial contextual knowledge that helps educators interpret and respond to behavior appropriately.”
Using New York City Public School data for grades 6-12 spanning 11 academic years (2011-2012 to 2021-2022), researchers analyzed student characteristics, including demographics, special education status, and disciplinary records; school characteristics, including student enrollment size and teacher-student ratio; and teacher data, including full-time status, years of experience, and resignations (both mid-year and at the end of the year).
In an analysis determining how data relates to a typical change in teacher turnover rates, their findings show a statistically significant relationship between increases in the percentage of teachers who left their schools and increases in the probability of a student receiving an ODR or suspension, particularly for Black students and other students of extremely underrepresented ethnoracial backgrounds.
The article is published in the American Journal of Education.
Key findings:
When teachers stay, students are less likely to be disciplined. A 13.3% decrease in teachers within a school who left at the end of the school year is correlated with a 5.7% reduction in students receiving an ODR, and a 7.2% reduction in students receiving a suspension.
Similarly, a 4.5% decrease in teachers who left in the middle of the school year correlated to a 1.9% reduction in students receiving an ODR and a 2.4% reduction of students receiving a suspension.
Overall, Black students and other students of extremely underrepresented ethnoracial backgrounds were the only students more likely to receive an ODR or suspension with increased turnover.
As teachers with more years of experience departed mid-year, students’ probability of disciplinary actions increased. The probability that a student received an ODR or suspension increased by roughly 20-30% for each year of experience the departing teachers had, on average.
“As these correlations reflect data at the school level, we expect the resulting estimates are more modest than if we had data that allowed us to estimate how discipline would change after a child’s own teacher left,” says Rodriguez. “However, even with the limitations, these findings suggest that turnover is not just a workforce issue, but also a school climate issue. Our findings reaffirm that policymakers and practitioners must design strategies that both reduce turnover and buffer its effects—through mentorship and induction supports, targeted professional development, and fostering inclusive school cultures.”
END
Study links teacher turnover to higher rates of student suspensions, disciplinary referrals
Disciplinary actions were also linked to teachers’ experience levels and Black students were disproportionately affected
2025-09-10
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
How harmful bacteria hijack crops
2025-09-10
By Chris Woolston
Aphids, grasshoppers and other bugs aren’t the only pests that can quickly wipe out a crop. Many harmful bacteria have evolved ways to bypass a plant’s defenses. A once-healthy tomato plant can quickly turn sick and blotchy, thanks to microscopic foes armed with an arsenal of tricks.
In a recent study, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have identified a tool that helps the bacteria Pseudomonas syringae turn a plant’s fundamental biology against itself. The findings, recently published in the prestigious journal mBio, could eventually lead to new approaches to protecting crops, said co-author Barbara Kunkel, ...
Crowded conditions muddle frogs’ mating choices
2025-09-10
Female treefrogs prefer a mate with an impressive call, but the crowded environments give unattractive males an edge, according to a new international study led by Assistant Professor Jessie Tanner of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
When choosing among only two males, female gray treefrogs pick the mate with faster and more regular calls. Faced with four or eight types of calls, however, their choices were inconsistent, according to the study recently published in the biological sciences journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
In the wild, frogs usually are choosing mates in noisy, crowded environments called choruses, with many males calling at the same ...
A new way to guide light, undeterred
2025-09-10
Key Takeaways
Penn researchers built a light-based crystal “tunnel” that forces light to move one way, even around bumps, bends, and defects.
By driving the crystal with circularly polarized light, the team created a protected topological channel that keeps light on course.
The discovery points toward sturdier lasers, smarter optical chips, and future devices that could safeguard quantum information.
Relaying a message from point A to B can be as simple as flashing a thumbs-up at a stranger in an intersection, signaling them to proceed—nonverbal, clear, and universally understood. ...
Researchers uncover how COVID-19 may linger in cancer patients and affect treatment outcomes
2025-09-10
MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL (09/10/2025) — New research from the University of Minnesota Medical School is providing important insights into how COVID-19 persists in cancer patients even long after testing positive. The findings were recently published in iScience.
During a peak of COVID-19 in 2020, there was concern around cancer patients who had contracted COVID-19 and developed severe inflammatory reactions that looked similar to autoimmune conditions. To better understand this phenomenon, researchers studied three cancer patients ...
Tiny metal figurines from Sardinia's Nuragic civilization in around 1,000 BC reveal extensive ancient Mediterranean metal trading networks
2025-09-10
Tiny metal figurines from Sardinia's Nuragic civilization in around 1,000 BC reveal extensive ancient Mediterranean metal trading networks
Article URL: http://plos.io/45QCTPq
Article title: Multiproxy analysis unwraps origin and fabrication biographies of Sardinian figurines: On the trail of metal-driven interaction and mixing practices in the early first millennium BCE
Author countries: Germany, Denmark, Italy
Funding: Grant agreement 23–1869 to HV, MKH, GS. Augustinus Foundation funding the Metals & Giants project. https://augustinusfonden.dk/en The foundation played no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation ...
Natural microfibers may degrade differently to synthetic materials under simulated sunlight exposure in freshwater and seawater conditions, with implications for how such pollutants affect aquatic lif
2025-09-10
Natural microfibers may degrade differently to synthetic materials under simulated sunlight exposure in freshwater and seawater conditions, with implications for how such pollutants affect aquatic life
Article URL: http://plos.io/3HS46t5
Article title: Structural evolution of microfibers in seawater and freshwater under simulated sunlight: A small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering study
Author countries: Italy, Austria
Funding: This work was partially funded by the European Union – Next Generation EU, Project Code: ECS00000041, Project Title: Innovation, Digitalization and Sustainability for the Diffused Economy in Central Italy ...
Indian new mums report better postpartum wellbeing when their own mum acts as their primary support - while women whose mother-in-law is the primary caregiver instead report significantly lower overal
2025-09-10
Indian new mums report better postpartum wellbeing when their own mum acts as their primary support - while women whose mother-in-law is the primary caregiver instead report significantly lower overall wellness
Article URL: https://plos.io/45Sz6RO
Article title: Investigating the role of family members in postnatal care: Evidence from mother-caregiver dyads in India
Author countries: U.S., India
Funding: The author(s) received no specific funding for this work. END ...
Young adult intelligence and education are correlated with socioeconomic status in midlife
2025-09-10
Educational attainment and intelligence, and to a smaller extent parental education and father’s occupational class, are associated with midlife socioeconomic status, according to a new study published September 10, 2025 in the open-access journal PLOS One by Erik Lykke Mortensen of University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
Socioeconomic status (SES)—a measure of individual differences in access to material and social resources—has long been linked with health, morbidity, and cognition. Previous studies ...
Traditional and “existential” wellness vary significantly between US regions
2025-09-10
Northeastern and Midwestern residents tend to have higher physical, social, and financial—i.e., “traditional”—wellness, while Southern residents have higher “existential” wellness, involving a sense of purpose and community identity, per an analysis of survey data from more than 325,000 U.S. residents. David Samson of the University of Toronto, Canada, and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS One on September 10, 2025.
A growing body of research explores factors that may be linked with traditional and existential wellness. Many such factors, such as healthcare ...
Smartwatches detect early signs of PTSD among those watching coverage of the Oct 7 attacks in Israel
2025-09-10
In a three-year study involving more than 5,000 residents of Israel before and after the mass traumatic events of October 7, 2023, those who watched extensive media coverage of the attacks were found to be more likely to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Prof. Erez Shmueli and Prof. Dan Yamin of Tel Aviv University and Wizermed LTD, in collaboration with colleagues from Tel Aviv University and Stanford University present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS Mental ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Scientists create ChatGPT-like AI model for neuroscience to build one of the most detailed mouse brain maps to date
AI and omics unlock personalized drugs and RNA therapies for heart disease
2023 ocean heatwave ‘unprecedented but not unexpected’
Johns Hopkins researchers develop AI to predict risk of US car crashes
New drug combination offers hope for men with advanced prostate cancer
New discovery finds gene converts insulin-producing cells into blood-sugar boosters
Powerful and precise multi-color lasers now fit on a single chip
Scientists agree chemicals can affect behavior, but industry workers more reluctant about safety testing
DNA nanospring measures cellular motor power
Elsevier Foundation and RIKEN launch “Envisioning Futures” report: paving the way for gender equity and women’s leadership in Japanese research
Researchers discover enlarged areas of the spinal cord in fish, previously found only in four-limbed vertebrates
Bipolar disorder heterogeneity decoded: transforming global psychiatric treatment approaches
Catching Alport syndrome through universal age-3 urine screening
Instructions help you remember something better than emotions or a good night’s sleep
Solar energy is now the world’s cheapest source of power, a Surrey study finds
Scientists reverse Alzheimer’s in mice using nanoparticles
‘Good’ gut bacteria boosts placenta for healthier pregnancy
USC team demonstrates first optical device based on “optical thermodynamics”
Microplastics found to change gut microbiome in first human-sample study
Artificially sweetened and sugary drinks are both associated with an increased risk of liver disease, study finds
Plastic in the soil, but not as we know it: Biodegradable microplastics rewire carbon storage in farm fields
Yeast proteins reveal the secrets of drought resistance
Psychiatry, primary care, and OB/GYN subspecialties hit hardest by physician attrition
New Canadian study reveals where HIV hides in different parts of the body
Lidocaine poisonings rise despite overall drop in local anesthetic toxicity
Politics follow you on the road
Scientists blaze new path to fighting viral diseases
The mouse eye as a window to spotting systemic disease
AI and the Future of Cancer Research and Cancer Care to headline October 24 gathering of global oncology leaders at the National Press Club: NFCR Global Summit to feature top scientists, entrepreneurs
FDA clears UCLA heart tissue regeneration drug AD-NP1 for clinical trials
[Press-News.org] Study links teacher turnover to higher rates of student suspensions, disciplinary referralsDisciplinary actions were also linked to teachers’ experience levels and Black students were disproportionately affected