The National Center for Education Statistics released early findings from its Beginning Teacher Attrition and Mobility study that aims to shed light on beginning teachers' career paths. The results from the first three waves of surveys (a minimum of five will be completed) have already produced some revealing conclusions.

Most notably, 90 percent of beginning teachers assigned a mentor were still teaching two years later. But only about 78 percent of beginning teachers who were not assigned a mentor were still in the classroom over that same period. It's findings such as these which demonstrate the need for states to establish effective induction programs, as we call for in our State Teacher Policy Yearbook.

Graham Drake