Research & Insights

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.

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.

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

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. 

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.

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

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.

What can the education field learn from Netflix? How to revolutionize staffing to better meet the needs of those you serve. Our outdated model of teaching makes it hard for schools to hire and keep great teachers.

This research summary examines the research behind key components of strategic staffing models, such as formalized teacher leadership and mentorship, differentiated compensation, teacher working conditions, teacher collaboration, and class size adjustments.

Reimagining teaching roles often requires revising teacher contracts and district policies. This tool is designed to help.

Our classrooms haven’t kept pace with the changing world. The Ford Model T represented breakthrough technology in its day—more than 100 years ago—but it wouldn’t serve us well today. Likewise, our traditional classroom model from the same era doesn’t work well for far too many students and teachers. In fact, as a result of this outdated model, it is more difficult for schools to find and keep great teachers, which ultimately hurts student learning.

This interactive resource answers questions and provides guidance about reimagining teaching based on your leadership role. It contains a scan of state policies that impact whether districts can make strategic staffing a reality, case studies from innovative states and districts that are leading the way, and advice for leaders on how to get started.

Districts miss an opportunity to improve teacher effectiveness and strengthen their hiring pipelines if they don’t support strong student teaching experiences. New NCTQ data identifies which large U.S. school districts use smart policies to get the best ROI on clinical practice.

A strong clinical practice (or student teaching) experience can make a new teacher as effective as one in their second or third year in the classroom—a big gain for those teachers and, more importantly, their students. Providing every aspiring teacher with a strong clinical practice experience requires collaboration from prep programs and districts, often supported by their state.

In this action guide, you can review the six essential focus areas of a strong clinical practice experience; use the self-assessment tool to help you identify where to start; and read case studies from prep programs, school districts, and states that are getting it right.