This presentation examines teacher attrition and defines policies that could help reduce attrition. It first presents a theory of teacher attrition that explains what patterns to expect in teacher attrition and turnover and why some teacher attrition may be inevitable. It presents findings from a longitudinal study of Indiana teachers, concentrating on findings generalizable to some extent across countries. The study tracked approximately 50,000 full-time public school teachers from 1965-1987 and examined attrition by age, gender, and subject area; starting salaries by field; beginning teacher attrition; and median survival time for selected groups. The presentation's third topic is the role of teacher salary in determining attrition. When former teachers were asked whether a substantial increase in salary would have made a difference in their decision to leave teaching, the overwhelming majority said no, but when current mathematics and science teachers were asked about the most important factor that would help in teacher retention, over half mentioned higher salaries. Finally, an overview is offered of retention strategies aimed at keeping teachers in the teaching profession, focusing on the role of increased teacher salaries, performance-based compensation plans, and teacher induction programs for beginning teachers. (JDD)