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The challenge of transforming underperforming schools and improving student achievement drives RAND's commitment to education. RAND research on teachers and teaching explores a wide range of topics, including instructional practices, technology in the classroom, class size, teacher recruitment and retention, and teacher quality and effectiveness.

Essay
A Four-Day School Week? Here Are the Costs and Benefits
Hundreds of small school districts across America have cut one day a week from their calendars. A shorter school week helps them compete for teachers and reduce costs. Teachers and parents love it. But is it really in the best interests of students?
Aug 31, 2023
Report
All Work and No Pay: Teachers' Perceptions of Their Pay and Hours Worked
Since the pandemic, there have been some positive improvements in teacher well-being. However, teachers in some states are still leaving their jobs at rates higher than before COVID-19 hit. How might salary and work hours affect their decisions to leave?
Sep 12, 2023

Explore Teachers and Teaching

Report
Designing and Implementing Micro-Credentials to Support STEM Teaching: Lessons from Louisiana's Project to Improve Pre-Engineering and Computer Science Education Through Micro-Credentialing
The authors describe the development and implementation of micro-credentials that allow teachers to demonstrate competency in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) instructional topics.
Sep 26, 2023
Report
State Curriculum Reforms and Their Potential Contribution to Instructional System Coherence: A Case Study of Rhode Island and Tennessee
RAND researchers investigate how English language arts curriculum reforms in Rhode Island and Tennessee might be related to the adoption and use of standards-aligned curriculum materials and teachers’ perceptions of instructional system coherence.
Sep 13, 2023
News Release
U.S. Teachers Are Less Satisfied with Their Pay Than Most Working Adults
Sixty-six percent of U.S. teachers who responded to a new, nationally representative survey said their base salary was inadequate, compared with 39 percent of U.S. working adults. These teachers want a $17,000 increase in base pay, on average, to feel that their pay is adequate.
Sep 12, 2023
Periodical
RAND Review: September-October 2023
Features explore the impact of four-day school weeks; the risk of people in the intelligence community experiencing trauma; and how insomnia affects societal health, well-being, and productivity.
Sep 11, 2023
Report
How Are District Leaders Thinking About Mathematics? Selected Findings from the American School District Panel
To determine how school districts were approaching mathematics during and after the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, researchers surveyed and interviewed leaders in the American School District Panel several times between fall 2021 and spring 2023.
Sep 6, 2023
Brochure
The American Educator Panels Pricing Sheet: Taking the Pulse of America's Educators
This pricing guide describes the American Educator Panels and provides costs for the various research options available.
Aug 31, 2023
Commentary
Five Charts That Tell Us About the State of Public Education Right Now
To monitor education trends, RAND fields more than a dozen surveys per year to teachers, principals, and superintendents. Five charts highlight findings across different areas—staff turnover, teacher well-being, guns in schools, quality of instruction, and politics in schools—that say a lot about the state of American public education.
Aug 28, 2023
Report
The Role of Benchmark Assessments in Coherent Instructional Systems: Findings from the 2022 American Instructional Resources Survey
Researchers draw on the American Instructional Resources Survey to examine the prevalence of benchmark assessments and explore educators' perceptions about the role that benchmark assessments play in their schools' instructional systems.
Aug 23, 2023
Commentary
Partnerships with Parents Are Key to Solving Political Polarization in Schools
Parental involvement has become a flashpoint in the public debate over what instructional content is appropriate for school settings. School system leaders should develop a two-pronged approach on how to respond when educators encounter conflicts with parents and families: a proactive strategy to build trust and engage parents and a reactive strategy to manage conflicts when they arise.
Aug 15, 2023
Report
What Do Teachers of Color Think Contributes to a Sense of Belonging?
When asked how their school cultivates a sense of belonging, a majority of teachers of color described efforts to recognize and celebrate race or educate the school community about race and culture. They also cited school climate and demographics, and relationships with colleagues.
Aug 15, 2023
Report
Teaching and Leading: An Evaluation of the Impacts and Professional Trajectories of Teach For America Participants in Indianapolis
The authors quantify the impacts of Teach For America Indianapolis (TFA Indy) on student and school outcomes in the Indianapolis area, by evaluating the effectiveness and retention of TFA Indy teachers in comparison with other teachers.
Jul 20, 2023
Report
Florida K–12 Mathematics Teachers' Access to and Use of Student Data
Teachers' use of data could be a valuable tool in helping students recover from the negative effects of the pandemic on mathematics learning. Are Florida math teachers being supported to use student data?
Jul 11, 2023
Report
Causes and Consequences of the Crises in State and Local Pension Funding: Research to Inform the Development of a Road Map for Reform
This report examines the origins and consequences of state and local pension crises. It finds that there are many small crises reflecting local circumstance, history, and constraints and identifies insights to inform a tailored road map for reform.
Jun 30, 2023
Research Brief
A Call for Leadership: Persistent State and Local Public Pension Crises Across the United States
In untangling the facets that compose public pension crises, RAND researchers identified six common contributors: assumptions, institutional setting, poor governance, lack of expertise, policy culture, and conflicting incentives and interests.
Jun 30, 2023
Research Brief
Steps for Effectively Addressing State and Local Pension Crises: A Prototype Road Map for Stakeholders
To help stakeholders understand what drives state and local public pension funding crises and what solutions exist, RAND Corporation researchers developed a prototype road map for reform that takes a holistic perspective.
Jun 30, 2023
Report
The BHP Foundation's Education Equity Program: Midterm Evaluation Findings (2018–2022)
In this midterm evaluation of the BHP Foundation's Education Equity program, the authors assess the program's impacts, share insights to inform its improvement, and provide recommendations for its strategy and theory of change.
Jun 29, 2023
Report
Engaging a Global Network to Curate and Disseminate Evidence About What Works to Improve Family-School Engagement: A Case Study of the Center for Universal Education's Family-School Engagement Playbook Effort
This case study describes the effort of the Brookings Institution's Center for Universal Education to produce and disseminate a Playbook that synthesizes evidence and promising strategies to improve family-school engagement.
Jun 29, 2023
Report
Exploring How Teach for All's Networks Connect Local Educational Organizations: A Case Study of Alumni Professional Connections in Peru
Using data from Enseña Perú, the Peru chapter of the global Teach for All network, the authors evaluated alumni professional interactions with each other and the extent to which these collaborations span organizations, sectors, and regions in Peru.
Jun 29, 2023

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RAND Topic:
Teachers and Teaching

Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

V. Darleen Opfer

Vice President and Director, RAND Education and Labor

V. Darleen Opfer is vice president and director of RAND Education and Labor and holds the Distinguished Chair in Education Policy at the RAND Corporation. She served as director of RAND Education from 2011 to 2018; from 2005 to 2011, she was director of research and senior lecturer in research…
Isaac M. Opper

Economist

Isaac M. Opper is an economist at RAND and a professor of policy analysis at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. He uses a wide range of empirical techniques to shed light on important policy questions. This includes applying existing statistical approaches to new research questions, as well as…

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