Research & Insights

Clinical practice opportunities are critical elements of teacher preparation. This paper defines the two key types of clinical practice experiences teacher candidates need and outlines six common models prep programs use to provide them.

New research found measurable differences in teacher quality between different generations of teachers—with Baby Boomers being least effective.

New research asks: If we were to trace the path new teachers take into the profession, could we identify the most fruitful sources of aspiring teachers who persist in earning a teaching credential?

Apprenticeships offer a promising model to help expand and diversify the teacher workforce. But NCTQ President Heather Peske cautions: We’re long on enthusiasm for apprenticeships and short on the details and data. We must still ensure that apprenticeships train candidates to be highly effective teachers.

Here’s what we learned about what’s going well and what’s been challenging in building a strong clinical practice experience, as well as which policies and supports could lead to better experiences.

A new report explores why some teachers don’t use standards-aligned curriculum materials. Here’s what states and districts should do to ensure teachers feel empowered and supported to use high-quality materials.

State education leaders shouldn’t work alone to enact teacher-focused reading policies, writes NCTQ President Heather Peske. Instead, they can look to states that have already blazed the trail and laid down clear markers to follow. Our State Reading Policy Action Guide outlines what policy actions leaders should take to revamp reading instruction and highlights examples of states leading the way.

Non-teaching staff can have a big impact on student outcomes, yet little research explores how their turnover rates vary and what effects that could have on the school. New research explores turnover among different staffing groups, including which conditions predict churn and which conditions prevent it.

The skyrocketing price of health insurance impacts both teachers and school districts. Here’s how some education leaders are keeping health insurance affordable for teachers.

Nearly 40% of fourth graders in the United States (1.3 million children) cannot read at a basic level, with even higher rates among students of color, those with learning differences, and those from low-income households. Research shows that with effective teaching, over 90% of students would learn to read, potentially helping an additional 1 million fourth grade students annually become skilled readers.

This report analyzes whether all 50 states and D.C. are implementing five key policy actions to strengthen elementary teachers’ ability to teach reading, providing specific indicators, recommendations, and examples of successful practices that have improved student outcomes.

This action guide outlines five key actions states should take to strengthen implementation of reading policies.

NCTQ’s Teacher Quality Bulletin distills the latest education research into clear, actionable information for education leaders. From topics like effective reading instruction to teacher diversity, here are the posts that caught their attention this year.

Explore the most popular District Trendline posts of 2023, spotlighting topics like paid parental leave benefits, housing costs in relation to teaching salaries, the diversification of the teacher workforce, and more.

Districts nationally are struggling to build strong pools of substitute teachers. Yet in 40% of the large districts we analyzed, entry-level substitute teachers are paid less than what they would earn hourly if they worked in retail.

One of elementary teachers’ core responsibilities is to teach children to read. But in elementary classrooms across the country, roughly a third of children cannot read at even a basic level by the middle of fourth grade.

Licensure tests should be an efficient and comprehensive way for policymakers to ensure that all teachers possess the basic knowledge and skills they need to effectively teach reading. However, more than half of U.S. states use weak teacher tests that fail to properly assess knowledge of scientifically-based reading instruction—allowing nearly 100,000 teachers to enter classrooms every year with false assurances that they’re ready to teach reading.

This report analyzes the quality of elementary teacher reading licensure tests across all states, examining both the tests themselves and which states are using acceptable measures to ensure teachers are properly prepared to teach reading.

Every year, countless English learning students pass through our education system without getting the help they need. And for each one, a teacher is left feeling frustrated, or confused, and may not even realize why.

Five actions education leaders can take to tap into the power of background knowledge.

New Research Reveals Surprising Long-Term Effects of Teacher Performance Pay on Students.

Pipelines, incentives, retention strategies, and data tracking lead to greater diversity.

Do state leaders suffer from a lack of strategy? To really connect the dots and make an impact, states need to simultaneously prioritize teacher quality and learning outcomes.

How do you balance teachers’ need for professional development with the time it takes away from their students? And do you make sure that time is well spent?

Teachers need to be constant learners to keep up with an ever-changing landscape. But professional development can vary a lot, which makes it hard to know what will ultimately help students.

To learn about state priorities in the coming years, NCTQ surveyed education leaders, advocacy groups, and researchers across the country.

Giving teachers a strong start through mentoring and induction programs has been identified as a successful approach to keeping more novice teachers in the profession.

How popular of a career choice is teaching? New data analysis shows trends in teacher prep program enrollment and completion.