Josh B. McGee
@jbmcgee.bsky.social
Economist working in education policy at University of Arkansas; former Arkansas CDO , TX PRB Chairman & philanthropy executive joshbmcgee.com
“Too often, discussions about teaching are driven by assumptions, isolated experiences, or national narratives that may not reflect what is happening in the aggregate across Arkansas” www.arkansasonline.com/news/2026/ju...
OPINION | JOSH McGEE AND GEMA ZAMARRO: The status of Arkansas teachers | Arkansas Democrat Gazette
If you follow public discussions about education, you might conclude that teaching is a profession in crisis.
arkansasonline.com
“The best way to support teachers and strengthen Arkansas education is not to ignore challenges or to exaggerate them. It is to understand them clearly” Op-ed with @jbmcgee.bsky.social www.arkansasonline.com/news/2026/ju...
The status of Arkansas teachers | Arkansas Democrat Gazette
If you follow public discussions about education, you might conclude that teaching is a profession in crisis.
arkansasonline.com
“Our surveys also tell us about the working conditions of our teachers. Pay is important, but working conditions are also very important.” www.kuaf.com/show/ozarks-...
Arkansas teacher retention rebounds, but challenges persist
UofA researchers Josh McGee and Gema Zamarro discuss Arkansas teacher retention rates, job satisfaction, student behavior challenges, and what the LEARNS Act has meant for the profession.
kuaf.com
This #TeacherAppreciationWeek let’s thank our teachers and review some facts about the AR teacher workforce from our work here at the University of Arkansas Department of Education Reform and the Office for Education Policy oep.uark.edu/key-topics/t...
Teacher Pipeline
Visit the post for more.
oep.uark.edu
Nice write up of some of my research with @gzamarro.bsky.social @jbmcgee.bsky.social and others. Other states are implementing/considering similar policies which are a step away from rigid salary schedules and tends to be more equitable than alternatives. fordhaminstitute.org/national/com...
Minimum pay, maximum impact: Arkansas’s teacher retention strategy
Teacher pay has become a big contender in the education reform space, with growing agreement that paying educators a
fordhaminstitute.org
On teach pay and retention, more from colleagues and alum at @ua_edreform at @uacoehp at @UArkansas fordhaminstitute.org/national/com...
Minimum pay, maximum impact: Arkansas’s teacher retention strategy
Teacher pay has become a big contender in the education reform space, with growing agreement that paying educators a
fordhaminstitute.org
“While teachers reported low burnout, Zamarro said teachers can be satisfied with their jobs and still have stressors. One stressor in particular she pointed to was in managing student behaviors” www.arkansasonline.com/news/2026/ap...
Report ranks Arkansas’ teacher retention rate ‘high,’ but still below pre-covid levels | Arkansas Democrat Gazette
The rates at which Arkansas teachers are staying in the classroom held steady for the second school year in a row but remain below pre-covid pandemic levels, according to researchers.
arkansasonline.com
Arkansas law boosted teacher pay — and retention based on research by my colleagues @gzamarro.bsky.social + @jbmcgee.bsky.social www.k12dive.com/news/arkansa... via @K12DiveNews
Arkansas law boosted teacher pay — and retention
Research from the University of Arkansas, however, warns that the impacts from these raises will “fade over time” if they’re not sustained.
k12dive.com
Arkansas is doing some really good things to bolster the teaching profession! And our analysis shows that alternatives to the "across the board" pay increase that some states are considering (flat % or $ raises) can still be effective at improving retention. Important given tight state budgets!!
Gema Zamarro@gzamarro.bsky.social · 4mo agoTogether, the salary and satisfaction research “suggests that Arkansas is making meaningful progress in strengthening the teaching profession,” said Gema Zamarro www.k12dive.com/news/arkansa...
🧵 New Arkansas teacher retention data is in. A few takeaways 👇 1/ Retention has stabilized—but not fully recovered. Roughly 87 percent of Arkansas teachers returned to the classroom over 1.5 pp below pre-pandemic levels. oep.uark.edu/arkansas-tea...
Arkansas Teacher Retention 2025-26: A New Normal
by: Josh McGee, Roy McKenzie, and Gema Zamarro
oep.uark.edu
Check out this recent article on our evaluation of increased teacher pay in Arkansas!
Gema Zamarro@gzamarro.bsky.social · 4mo agoTogether, the salary and satisfaction research “suggests that Arkansas is making meaningful progress in strengthening the teaching profession,” said Gema Zamarro www.k12dive.com/news/arkansa...
New teacher survey: AR ranks among highest in satisfaction, with strong feelings of success and commitment. But stress, workload, and student behavior remain challenges—highlighting opportunities to strengthen support. Blog oep.uark.edu/new-survey-r... Report edre.uark.edu/_resources/p...
New Survey Results Show Arkansas Teachers Report High Satisfaction — With Room to Strengthen Support
By Taylor Scott, Josh McGee, Meredith Schellhase, and Gema Zamarro Teachers’ impact extends far beyond their time in the classroom. They influence students’ academic and non-academic outcomes that …
oep.uark.edu
Nice shout out by Amber about the @caldercenter report on the effects of the Learns Act (which sets a $50K minimum for teacher salaries in Arkansas)! Not surprisingly, more $ increases teacher retention. caldercenter.org/publications... 4/4
Raising the Floor: Teacher Retention Effects of a Statewide Minimum Salary Increase | CALDER Center
caldercenter.org
Next, Saturday morning, my student Meredith Schellhase will present on how principals are experiencing all the latest changes in AR under the LEARNS Act and related recent policy changes. You do not want to miss this one. This is my first mixed methods study ☺️
Saturday morning, my student Taylor Scott will be presenting on teacher wellbeing and value-added performance 👇
Friday morning my now graduated student Taylor Wilson will be presenting work on new teachers’ feelings of preparedness, discipline environments and teacher turnover 👇
Thank you @michaelpetrilli.bsky.social for discussing our work studying the effects of AR LEARNS base salary raises 👇
Michael Petrilli@michaelpetrilli.bsky.social · 5mo agoJames Talarico, education reformer schooledbymikepetrilli.substack.com/p/james-tala... @sethrau.bsky.social @danagoldstein.bsky.social @alexanderrusso.bsky.social @cedr.bsky.social @marcportermagee.bsky.social @jenjennings.bsky.social
Early Evidence Suggests LEARNS Salary Increases Improved Teacher Retention. The blog post linked below summarizes the results from our new working paper. It’s a quick, nontechnical read. Check it out 👇
Josh B. McGee@jbmcgee.bsky.social · 5mo agoCheck out our blog post summarizing the results of our recent working paper on the retention effects of LEARNS teacher salary increases. We find that the raises are improving teacher retention—especially in rural & higher-need districts. More 👇 oep.uark.edu/raising-the-...
Don’t have time to read our long technical paper on AR LEARNS teacher base salaries and retention? No worries, we now have a short non-technical blog post on it for you 👇 oep.uark.edu/raising-the-...
Raising the Floor: Early Evidence Suggests LEARNS Salary Increases Improved Teacher Retention
by Josh McGee and Gema Zamarro In 2023, Arkansas enacted one of the most ambitious teacher pay reforms in the country. The LEARNS Act raised the statewide minimum teacher salary from $36,000 to $50…
oep.uark.edu
Gema Zamarro@gzamarro.bsky.social · 5mo agoCheck out our new @caldercenter.bsky.social working paper studying the effects of AR LEARNS teacher base salary raises on retention caldercenter.org/publications...
Loved this convo about the potential reasons for fade out and how to reconcile test fade out, e.g., of teacher effects, with better later life outcomes associated with interventions/having better teachers. I think it's got to be some combo of ... 1/n fordhaminstitute.org/national/res...
What the fadeout effect means for testing, accountability, and school choice | Episode 1008 of The Education Gadfly Show
fordhaminstitute.org
Check out our blog post summarizing the results of our recent working paper on the retention effects of LEARNS teacher salary increases. We find that the raises are improving teacher retention—especially in rural & higher-need districts. More 👇 oep.uark.edu/raising-the-...
Raising the Floor: Early Evidence Suggests LEARNS Salary Increases Improved Teacher Retention
by Josh McGee and Gema Zamarro In 2023, Arkansas enacted one of the most ambitious teacher pay reforms in the country. The LEARNS Act raised the statewide minimum teacher salary from $36,000 to $50…
oep.uark.edu
Thank you @chadaldeman.bsky.social fir the interesting post featuring our work evaluating the salary changes under the LEARNS Act nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com?url=https%3A...
Raise the Floor on Teacher Salaries
It could boost recruitment, retention, and academic performance
nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com
Thanks to @chadaldeman.bsky.social for highlighting our work evaluating the impact of Arkansas's min teacher salary increase: Raise the Floor on Teacher Salaries open.substack.com/pub/aldemano...
Raise the Floor on Teacher Salaries
It could boost recruitment, retention, and academic performance
open.substack.com
