School principals are critical to students' academic achievement, second only to teachers. They are the primary agents of change in their schools, fostering supportive learning environments that enhance student learning and teacher effectiveness. Moreover, they often design and oversee the initiatives and hiring to sustain the positive changes…

In spring 2024, the authors surveyed 156 American School District Panel member districts about principal pipeline activities across seven domains -- leader standards, principal preparation, selective hiring and placement, on-the-job support and evaluation, principal supervision, leader tracking systems, and systems of support -- to estimate the…

How stressed are school superintendents? What are the reasons for their stress? To find out, authors surveyed 150 superintendents in American School District Panel member districts. In spring 2023, 79 percent of superintendents reported that their jobs were "often" or "always" stressful. Superintendents most commonly cited the…

Numerous accounts suggest that public school superintendents are burned out and frustrated by the accumulated stress of steering schools through the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and political polarization, and that they are increasingly at risk of mass attrition. However, despite high stress levels and similarly dire predictions…

This Data Note describes findings from a nationally representative sample of secondary school principals about their well-being and job-related stressors one year into the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Understanding principals' views on these topics at a national level can help education leaders and policymakers identify ways to…

Achievement in mathematics, particularly in advanced mathematics courses (such as trigonometry, precalculus, calculus, or Advanced Placement courses), is important for long-term college and career success. However, many students--particularly students who are Black, Hispanic, or from low-income households--do not have access to advanced…

Teaching deeper learning involves cultivating the critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration skills that students need to be successful in their college, career, and civic life. It also involves encouraging students to be active participants in their learning. Public schools across the United States often work to help students develop…

A large body of evidence indicates that well-implemented social and emotional learning (SEL) programs improve academic, social, and emotional outcomes for students and educators. Education policy has the potential to influence the high-quality implementation of SEL, from the school district, to the school, to the classroom. Before and during the…

A growing body of research suggests that school management models emphasizing teacher influence in school governance have a range of benefits, including increased teacher job satisfaction, more-effective organizational learning, and improved academic performance. However, research also suggests that teachers and principals have different views of…

In this report, a nationally representative sample of kindergarten through 12th grade (K-12) public school principals were asked about their experiences with covering classrooms and hiring staff. In the spring of the 2021-2022 school year, which coincided with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) omicron variant surge, most principals struggled…

Children and youth have benefited from afterschool programs in terms of academic, physical health, school attendance, promotion, graduation, and social and emotional outcomes. Afterschool programming in general--and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) afterschool programming in particular--is also popular among school officials and…

In a time when simply carrying out the essential functions of their jobs is a herculean task, educators have been faced with the additional challenge of addressing contentious, politicized topics in their schools and classrooms. Drawing from nationally representative samples of teachers and principals who completed the 2022 State of the American…

School reform has become an umbrella term for initiatives and programs that aim to improve school functioning and student outcomes. Many researchers and educators have noted the emergence of a "school reform churn." New initiatives and programs are adopted, only to be dropped when the next popular reform emerges. Although experimenting…

Effective principal leadership practices improve school organization, teaching, and student achievement outcomes. These practices include framing and communicating a school's goals and mission, creating shared expectations of high performance, clarifying roles and objectives, and promoting professional development. However, research demonstrates…

Many studies have documented a large decline in students' mathematics achievement during and after the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The question facing school districts now is how to help students recover. Since fall 2020, RAND researchers have repeatedly surveyed and interviewed district leaders who are members of the American…