LATE TO CLASS: Estimating the Relationship between Teacher Assignment Change and Student Sorting

This article examines the extent to which both teacher and student assignment patterns are associated with inequitable classroom compositions within schools. From a sample of about 30,000 elementary school classrooms in Tennessee, we first investigate the characteristics that predict a switch in a teacher’s assignment to a new grade or school. Next, we estimate the extent to which new-to-assignment teachers are systematically assigned different classrooms on the basis of students’ prior achievement and demographic characteristics. We find that, compared with their grade-level colleagues, new-to-school teachers are more likely to be assigned students of color, students eligible for free-and-reduced-price-lunch, and those with lower prior-year achievement. However, the classroom compositions of teachers in their first year at a new school are consistent with those they are assigned to teach in years when they do not change positions. We do not find systematic differences in classroom assignments for new-to-grade teachers within a school. Implications for policy are discussed.