Research
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Teacher Shortages in Connecticut
The Wheelock Educational Policy Center, in partnership with the Connecticut State Department of Education, tracks where and why staffing shortages persist in Connecticut's public schools. These reports identify shortage areas across special populations, general education subjects, and school support personnel—and examine how those gaps fall unevenly across districts. Together, the 2023 and 2025 editions show how the state's staffing challenges have evolved over time.
Special Education Substantially Improves Learning: Evidence from Three States
Special education serves more than one in seven U.S. students, yet its causal impact remains understudied. In this paper, we estimate the effect of individualized supports with an event-study design that tracks achievement around initial classification. The research shows students’ scores decline prior to placement and rise sharply afterward. Overall, individualized supports substantially increase learning productivity.
Assessing the Potential Impact of Seniority-Based Reduction in Force Policies on the Changing Teacher Workforce in Connecticut Schools
Given statewide patterns in the composition, distribution, and effectiveness of newly hired teachers, layoffs that prioritize seniority are likely to cause disproportionate disruption to the teacher workforce in Connecticut, especially in schools serving vulnerable populations.
Licensure Tests and Teacher Supply in Connecticut
This research project uses longitudinal data from Connecticut to examine the association between teachers’ performance on required subject-matter licensure tests (specifically, the Praxis II assessment suite) and their later effectiveness at improving student test scores. The authors then estimate the causal effect of failing a first attempt at one of these Praxis II tests on an individual’s likelihood of eventually becoming a licensed teacher in the state.