17th Annual CALDER Conference

The 17th Annual CALDER Conference was held on Monday, March 2, 2026. Click here to view a shorter summary of the presentations.

Conference Agenda

8:30 a.m.—9:00 a.m. Breakfast

9:00 a.m.—9:15 a.m. Welcome, Overview, & Announcements

Dan Goldhaber, CALDER/American Institutes for Research (AIR)

9:15 a.m.—10:45 a.m. SESSION I: Evidence on Teacher Working Conditions: Daily Realities, Leadership, and Labor Action

To Make Teaching Sustainable, Help Teachers Balance Work and Personal Demands: Findings from the 2025 State of the American Teacher Survey (view paper)
Presenter: Elizabeth Steiner, RAND/CALDER R&R

Principal Effects on Teacher Working Conditions (view paper)
Presenter: Cory Koedel, University of Missouri/CALDER R&R

The Effect of Teacher Strikes on Compensation, Working Conditions, and Productivity (view paper)
Presenter: Melissa Arnold Lyon, University at Albany, SUNY/CALDER R&R
 

Discussant: Marla Ucelli-Kashyap, Senior Director for Educational Issues, American Federation of Teachers 

10:45 a.m.—12:15 p.m. SESSION II: Evidence on What Makes Teachers Stay: Schedules, Salaries, and School Leaders

Teacher Retention and the Four-Day School Week (view paper)
Presenter: Andrew Camp, Annenberg Institute at Brown University
 

Teacher Salary Raises and Teacher Turnover: Evidence from the Arkansas LEARNS Act (view paper)
Presenter: Gema Zamarro, University of Arkansas/CALDER R&R

Principals’ Special Education Experience and Special Education Teacher Retention
Presenter: Roddy Theobald, CALDER/AIR
 

Discussant: Mark Olofson, Executive Director of Education Data, Research, and Strategy, Texas Education Agency 

12:15 p.m.—1:00 p.m. LUNCH

1:00 p.m.—2:30 p.m. SESSION III: Who Becomes a Teacher? Selection Across the Preparation and Hiring Pipelines

The Beginning of the Teacher Pipeline: Which College Students Apply to Teacher Education Programs? (view paper)
Presenter: John Krieg, Western Washington University
 

Method or Measure? Investigating the Teacher Learning Curve Across Multiple Student Outcomes
Presenter: Ben Backes, CALDER/AIR

School System Selection Processes and Workforce Composition (view paper)
Presenter: Dan Goldhaber, CALDER/AIR
 

Discussant: Sara Delano, Dean, School of Education, Dallas College 

2:30 p.m.—4:00 p.m.  Roundtable Discussion: What’s Next? Education Research and Policy at a Crossroads 

Panelists

Amber Northern, Senior Advisor, Office of the Secretary, US Department of Education

Cara Jackson, Research Manager, The Center for Outcomes Based Contracting (OBC) at Southern Education Foundation

Nat Malkus, Senior Fellow and Deputy Director, Education Policy Studies, AEI

Moderator: Dan Goldhaber, CALDER/AIR