[3] James Wyckoff's research focuses on teacher labour markets, in particular on the preparation, recruitment, assessment and retention of teachers,[1] within which he has frequently collaborated with Donald Boyd, Susanna Loeb and Hamilton Lankford.
[8] Analysing the sorting of teachers by qualifications in New York with Lankford and Loeb, Wyckoff found that low-income, low-achieving and non-white students, especially in urban schools, are generally taught by the least skilled teachers, with salaries rarely leaning against and sometimes even contributing to this sorting.
[14] Importantly, they also find that the main driver behind teachers' turnover decisions in New York City is their (negative) perception of the school administration.
[16] However, narrowing the gap between the qualifications of teachers in high- and low-performing schools is possible; for example, the NYC Teaching Fellows and Teach for America initiatives were able to substantially reduce such a gap between New York City's low- and high-poverty schools over 2000-2005 by substituting uncertified teachers in high-poverty schools by academically qualified teachers.
[21] Finally, together with Thomas Dee, Wyckoff has also evaluated IMPACT, the high-powered teacher-evaluation system introduced by Michelle Rhee in Washington D.C., and found that dismissal threats increased the voluntary attrition of low-performing teachers and improved the performance of remaining teachers, while financial incentives were effective in further improving the performance of high-performing teachers.