Staying or Leaving? Evaluation of the 2024 Teacher Compensation Provision’s Effect on Head Start Classroom Teachers’ Turnover and Wage

Abstract

High teacher turnover rates (TTR) significantly impact Early Care and Education (ECE) environments by decreasing instructional quality and threatening the fiscal stability of programs, especially in under-resourced communities (Barnes et al., 2007; Kwon et al., 2025; Schaack et al., 2022). Between 2019 and 2023, Head Start (HS) teachers vacancies rose from 13.5 to 17 (DHHS, 2024b). HS teachers frequently cite low wages and insufficient benefits as key reasons for leaving (Hur et al., 2023; Vicente et al., 2024). In response, the Department of Health and Human Services announced revisions to the Head Start Program Performance Standards (HSPPS) in November 2023 (ACF, 2023b), which took effect in August 2024. The 2024 HSPPS implemented changes related to wage scales, benefits, and staff well-being (DHHS, 2024b).This study investigated the impact of the early stage of 2024 HSPPS revision on classroom TTR and wage, examining the relationship between TTR and wages before and after the policy period by addressing the following questions: What is the impact of the 2024 HSPPS on classroom TTR and wage, and to what extent does wage predict classroom TTR, before and after in 2024? Adopting a quantitative design, secondary data from 2022 to 2025 were utilized. I used difference-in-differences and multi-level modeling analysis to evaluate the 2024 HSPPS impact. Results revealed that the early stage of policy implementation successfully reduced teacher turnover rates at the national-level. Similar to previous research, this study confirmed that classroom teachers’ actual wage increase rates are a direct driver of reduced turnover. Given the early stage of implementation, findings show encouraging results, emphasizing the effectiveness of the 2024 HSPPS. Evidence of policy success catalyzes improvement in working environments that allow teachers to thrive, influencing the broader ECE system.