The authors of this report present selected findings from the first American Pre-K Teacher Survey, administered to public school-based pre-kindergarten (pre-K) teachers in March and April 2024. The authors provide new information about the well-being, pay, and working conditions of public school-based pre-K teachers. The authors compare pre-K…

All students--particularly students of color--benefit academically and socially from having teachers who are people of color. However, people of color face systemic barriers to becoming and remaining teachers at multiple points throughout their careers. For example, people of color are more likely than their White peers to incur student debt,…

Few kindergarten through grade 12 public school teachers--only one out of every three--think that their pay is adequate. Low pay is a top reason teachers consider leaving their job and is a top source of job-related stress for one in three teachers. According to national surveys, teachers' perceptions of pay adequacy have not changed--or have…

Since its launch in the midst of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the American School District Panel (ASDP) has been used to monitor timely topics in kindergarten through grade 12 (K-12) public education. Over time, ASDP surveys have coalesced around four key challenges that U.S. public school districts face today: school…

Although well-being appears to have improved for many public school teachers of kindergarten to grade 12 (K-12) since the beginning of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, in some states, more teachers left their jobs at the end of the 2021-2022 school year than in the two previous school years and at rates higher than prepandemic averages. When…

Teach For America (TFA) is an organization that aims to address educational inequity in part through a program of training and placing teachers in U.S. K-12 public schools that have the highest proportions of high-poverty students. In this report, the authors quantify the impacts of Teach For America Indianapolis (TFA Indy) on student and school…

A four-day school week (4dsw) is becoming more common, especially in areas across the western United States. States with large rural areas are spearheading this change. For example, Colorado, Idaho, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and South Dakota have more than 500 districts using a 4dsw. The transition to the 4dsw and the debate over…

This report presents selected findings from the 2024 State of the American Teacher survey, an annual survey of kindergarten through grade 12 public school teachers across the United States. The findings focus on teacher well-being and a small set of high-interest factors related to teacher retention: sources of job-related stress, pay, hours…

All students--particularly students of color--benefit academically and socially from having teachers who are people of color. However, people of color face systemic barriers to becoming and remaining teachers at multiple points throughout their careers. For example, people of color are more likely than their White peers to incur student debt,…

This technical report presents information about the sample, content, and administration of the nationally representative 2023 State of the American Teacher (SoT) survey and the American Life Panel (ALP) companion survey. The SoT was completed by 1,439 American Teacher Panel members and the ALP survey was completed by 527 ALP members in January…

TNTP (formerly The New Teacher Project), an organization committed to ending educational inequities by promoting the recruitment, training, and retention of high-quality teachers and school leaders, implemented its Teacher Effectiveness and Certification (TEACh) initiative in three urban school districts. Through TEACh, TNTP works with school…

The four-day school week (4dsw) is growing in popularity, especially in rural areas across the western United States. RAND Corporation researchers addressed knowledge gaps about the 4dsw by conducting a large-scale study of the implementation and outcomes of the 4dsw that involved the collection of original data in numerous districts across Idaho,…

The contributions of assistant principals (APs) toward improving student and staff outcomes has not yet been a focus of much empirical research. In recent years, as the increased focus on improving student outcomes has shifted expectations and APs are now expected to perform some instructional leadership tasks, such as coaching and evaluating…

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has added more stress to an already high-stress profession: American public school teacher. The authors of this report share the results of a new survey of nearly 1,000 former public school teachers and reveal how important stress has been--even more so than pay--to teachers' decisions to leave the…

The four-day school week (4dsw) is growing in popularity, especially in rural areas across the western United States. RAND Corporation researchers addressed knowledge gaps about the 4dsw by conducting a large-scale study of the implementation and outcomes of the 4dsw that involved the collection of original data in numerous districts across Idaho,…