Research & Insights

Teachers with master’s degrees almost always get paid more than teachers without. But elementary math teachers who go through graduate-level teacher prep are often less prepared than teachers who go through an undergraduate program.

Can AI truly support teachers in ways that improve teacher effectiveness? Here’s what the research says.

Math skills are critical for students’ success in other subjects and later in life, yet far too many teacher prep programs fail to give aspiring teachers the essential knowledge they need to be effective math teachers—undermining student learning before the first lesson even begins.

The more teachers stay, the less districts need to hire and train new ones. While good working conditions play a role, new research confirms that compensation also matters—especially for certain positions.

New research examines what tools school hiring managers can use when hiring teachers and concludes that, when used well, they can help hire better teachers—but they’re not always used.

This brief outlines key findings regarding state teacher data systems and provides recommendations for enhancing them.

Teachers’ time is one of our most precious resources in schools. To design policies that make the best use of time to support teacher effectiveness, it’s helpful to see how school districts allocate it and how that compares across the country.

Parents in Massachusetts are stirring up “some good trouble” by suing the authors and publishing companies who “peddled a raft of products and curricula that sought to diminish and even exclude systematic and daily phonics instruction.”

As the field of neuroscience advances, so does our understanding of what works in teaching and learning. The best recent example of this? The reading movement. Our knowledge of how children’s brains learn to read has increased, and it has led to a revolution in how to teach children to read.

Mid-career professionals who transition into teaching bring years of career experience, a sense of purpose, and—according to recent research—a stronger likelihood of actually stepping into the classroom than their less experienced counterparts.

Teacher evaluation systems—if implemented well—can help districts make better workforce decisions. We examine whether large districts’ policies align with the research on what will likely make for effective and impactful evaluation systems.

Nationally, the diversification of the teacher workforce is slowing compared to the diversification of college-educated adults, but California, Texas, and Washington, D.C. are bucking that trend. Explore what factors contribute to their relatively high rates of teacher diversity and how their policies and practices will likely affect teacher quality.

New research reveals that the share of well-prepared STEM teachers in high-need schools has been increasing over the last 15 years, though high-need schools still have a smaller share of these teachers than more affluent schools. 

How targeted professional development in math and science can significantly boost student achievement—and which strategies truly make the difference.

Dear Mr. President,
Congratulations on your inauguration. I write to you concerning a matter that is critical to the success of our great nation: teacher quality.

Recent news of advances in state policy granting paid parental leave gives hope that policymakers increasingly recognize the importance for districts, teachers, and their families. But how much progress has there been? And what are the costs?

NCTQ devotes the December edition of our Teacher Quality Bulletin newsletter to looking at the opinions and research we shared this year and spotlighting the pieces that most interested our readers.

NCTQ publishes our monthly District Trendline newsletter to provide district leaders with easy access to research and policy patterns. As we reach the end of the calendar year, we look back to see which topics most interested district readers.

A diverse teacher workforce benefits all students, especially students of color. Students of color who have experiences with teachers of color are more likely to achieve life milestones like high school graduation, college enrollment, and college completion.

Many states and districts have been trying to diversify their teacher workforces. Still, NCTQ’s Teacher Diversity Dashboard reveals a troubling trend: Even though the racial diversity of college-educated adults is increasing, the teacher workforce is not keeping pace. In other words, people of color who could be teachers are increasingly opting out.

This brief outlines how to explore the workforce trends in your state and consider possible policy solutions to create a more diverse teacher workforce.

When teacher layoffs are necessary, districts with thoughtful policies can minimize disruptions to schools and students, especially those facing greater disadvantages. 

We are failing to give children daily opportunities to engage with a broad spectrum of people and their identities, perspectives, and experiences; and some children see no reflection of themselves in their teachers.

The Ford Model T: revolutionary 100+ years ago, impractical now. Similarly, our outdated classroom model doesn’t meet the needs of today’s students and teachers. We explore the evidence driving schools to reimagine the teaching role.

How much does reading policy work its way into classrooms? A new study exploring the state of reading across the U.S. underscores the need for consistent support and monitoring of reading policy implementation to make waves in classrooms.

A new study finds that this cost-effective evaluation system could improve math outcomes in districts with fewer students, teachers, and resources.