The Teaching Profession

Strategies for strengthening teachers and their working conditions

Teaching Innovation: New School Staffing Strategies Inspired by the Pandemic

School staffing strategies that developed during the pandemic, the conditions that enabled them, and how educators overcame barriers to the innovations

A Policymaker’s Playbook for Transforming Teaching

The District of Columbia Public Schools’ transformation of teaching into a performance-based profession

Q&A: Goldhaber on the Teaching Gap’s Troubling Consequences

Why low-income students are often stuck with the least experienced teachers

Educators and ESSER: How Pandemic Spending Is Reshaping the Teaching Profession

A comprehensive picture of state and local ESSER spending on the educator workforce

Master’s of None: The Fallacy of Advanced Ed Degrees

The questionable practice of rewarding teachers for earning advanced degrees

Q&A: Kraft on Why Reforming Teacher Evaluation Has—and Hasn’t—Succeeded

The push to improve teacher evaluation and resistance it has encountered

Scaling Reform: Tennessee’s Statewide Teacher Transformation

Tennessee’s redesign of its teaching profession

The Teaching Profession

By the Numbers

Teachers of Color

  • 6%

    All U.S. elementary and secondary school teachers that are men of color

  • 26%

    All K-12 students that are boys of color

Source: American Institute for Boys and Men

Arming Teachers

  • 54%

    Teachers who believe teachers carrying firearms would make schools less safe

  • 20%

    Teachers who believe teacher-carry would make schools safer

Source: RAND

Teacher Salaries & Rent Prices

  • 15

    Cities where a one-bedroom rental is unaffordable for a new teacher with a bachelor's degree

  • 9

    Cities where a one-bedroom rental is unaffordable for a new teacher with a master's degree

Source: NCTQ

Teacher Pension Costs

  • $21.8 billion

    Teacher pension costs in 2001

  • $63.7 billion

    Teacher pension costs in 2021, adjusted for inflation

Source: Equable Institute

Teacher Starting Salaries 20-21

  • $32,495

    Average starting salary for teachers in Montana

  • $56,313

    Average starting salary for teachers in DC

Source: National Education Association

Principal Stress During the Pandemic

  • 83%

    Principals who reported frequent job-related stress last school year (2020-21)

  • 59%

    Principals who cited supporting teachers’ mental health as a main source of stress

Source: Learn Together Surveys

Teacher Hours

  • 54

    Median hours worked per week by the typical teacher

  • 25

    Median hours spent teaching students

Source: The Merrimack College and EdWeek Research Center

The Teaching Profession

All Work

Research Notes: Pandemic-Era Emergency Licenses Diversified the Massachusetts Teacher Corps

Read More about Research Notes: Pandemic-Era Emergency Licenses Diversified the Massachusetts Teacher Corps

Testimony: How to Retain Teacher Talent in the District of Columbia

Read More about Testimony: How to Retain Teacher Talent in the District of Columbia

The Obstacles to a More Diverse Teacher Workforce

Read More about The Obstacles to a More Diverse Teacher Workforce

New Insights into Motivating Students

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Research Notes: Teacher Incentives Lead to Better Student Outcomes

Read More about Research Notes: Teacher Incentives Lead to Better Student Outcomes

Research Notes: How Incentive Pay Can Attract and Retain Teachers

Read More about Research Notes: How Incentive Pay Can Attract and Retain Teachers

Legislative Tracker: 2023 Teacher-Pay Bills in the States

Read More about Legislative Tracker: 2023 Teacher-Pay Bills in the States

Research Notes: CTE Teachers’ Training and Student Outcomes

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WEBINAR: Teachers Like Us: Strategies for Increasing Educator Diversity

Read More about WEBINAR: Teachers Like Us: Strategies for Increasing Educator Diversity

Research Notes: How Automating Student Feedback Can Help Teachers Take Notice

Read More about Research Notes: How Automating Student Feedback Can Help Teachers Take Notice

Q&A: Backes on New Ways of Measuring Teachers’ Impact on Student Success

Read More about Q&A: Backes on New Ways of Measuring Teachers’ Impact on Student Success

Governors’ Education Priorities in their 2023 State-of-the-State Addresses

Read More about Governors’ Education Priorities in their 2023 State-of-the-State Addresses