We are happy to announce the semi-finalists of our research competition--Help or Hindrance: The Impact of Teacher Rules, Roles, and Rights on Teacher Quality. A stellar jury picked the 9 best entries from 42 submissions.

Chris Ferguson, Indiana University, The Effect of Wage Frictions on Teacher Quality

Jason Grissom, University of Missouri-Columbia, Do "Teacher-Friendly" Contracts Help Districts Retain (Good) Teachers? Exploring the Impact of Non-Pecuniary Benefits on Teacher Turnover in Urban School Districts

Michael Hansen, University of Washington, State Intervention and Contract Choice in the Public Teacher Labor Market

Michael Hartney, University of Notre Dame and the National Governors Association, The Impact of Teacher Governance on Education Reform

Nicole Ireland, Greg Rawson and Regis Shields, Education Resource Strategies, Teacher Compensation Structures: A Lost Opportunity in Improving Teacher Quality

Kristine Lamm and Elton Mykerezi, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, The Effect of Teachers' Unions on Qualification-Specific and Incentive Based Teacher Compensation

Ryan Seebruck, University of Arizona, Teacher Quality, Educational Equality, and Teacher Transfers: The Organizational Structure of Education Labor Markets in the U.S. and Japan

Leah Wasburn-Moses, Miami University of Ohio, The Impact of State and District Mentoring Policies on Mentoring Practices in Special Education

Jijun Zhang, University of Maryland, College Park The Role of Teacher Unions on the Function of Public Schools: Union Control and Teacher Quality

All of these semi-finalists will be given the next six months to develop their proposal into a full research paper. The best among these nine will be asked to present their paper at our national conference in early 2009. A top prize of $15,000 will be awarded at that time, with a second place price of $5,000.

Thank you to our stellar jury: Don Langenberg, Chair of the National Reading Panel and NCTQ board member; researcher Dan Goldhaber of the University of Washington; Jane Hannaway of the Urban Institute; and Carol Peck, NCTQ board member, head of the Rodel Foundation Arizona and former National Superintendent of the Year.