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Teachers and Teaching

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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.

Report
Educator Turnover and How Districts Are Addressing It
Teacher turnover rose to 10 percent nationally at the end of the 2021–2022 school year. Principal turnover also increased, reaching 16 percent going into the 2022–2023 school year. How are states and districts responding to these staff shortages?
Feb 16, 2023
Q&A
Amplifying Teachers' Voices: Q&A with Ashley Woo
Ashley Woo, an assistant policy researcher at RAND and a Ph.D. candidate at the Pardee RAND Graduate School, aims to bring teachers' perspectives into policymaking. In this interview, she discusses her research on teachers' responses to state restrictions on how they can address topics related to race and gender in the classroom.
Mar 16, 2023

Explore Teachers and Teaching

Report
Stakeholder Feedback Surveys as Indicators of Teaching Effectiveness
According to the author, stakeholder surveys address a broad range of topics related to school and classroom climate. Some types of surveys can be used for teacher-level feedback.
Dec 4, 2019
Report
Beyond Achievement: How Teachers Affect Outcomes Other than Test Scores
Research shows that teachers matter for both test and nontest score outcomes. Teachers who excel at raising test scores do not necessarily excel at improving other outcomes.
Dec 4, 2019
Report
Student Growth Percentiles 101
One way to assess a teacher's effectiveness is to compare his or her students' achievement growth with that of other students.
Dec 4, 2019
Report
Teachers' Broad Impact: Understanding How Teachers Influence Students They Do Not Teach
The author discusses the potential ways that teachers can affect students whom they do not teach and how research suggests that a teacher's indirect reach could account for a large proportion of his or her overall contribution to student learning.
Dec 4, 2019
Report
Teachers Matter: Understanding Teachers' Impact on Student Achievement
The author articulates how research suggests that teachers are important to student achievement and how statistical methods can provide valuable but imprecise estimates of teacher effectiveness.
Dec 4, 2019
Report
Value-Added Modeling 101: Using Student Test Scores to Help Measure Teaching Effectiveness
The author discusses the use of value-added models (VAMs) to estimate teacher contribution to student progress, account for students' prior characteristics, and enable relative judgments, as well as the limitations of VAMs.
Dec 4, 2019
Report
Measuring Teacher Effectiveness: Understanding Common, Uncommon, and Combined Methods
The author describes the three most-common methods for measuring teacher effectiveness in the United States and discusses the importance of carefully considering the ways that measures are combined to create an overall index.
Dec 4, 2019
Report
Teacher Perspectives on Social and Emotional Learning in Massachusetts
Teachers are largely responsible for implementing social and emotional learning (SEL) programs and policies. How do teachers in Massachusetts feel about the importance of SEL? And what are their opinions on approaches to and support for SEL instruction?
Oct 2, 2019
Blog
Drug Prices, China, Workplace Harassment: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on U.S. prescription drug prices, how not to confront China, sexual harassment in today's workplace, and more.
Sep 27, 2019
Commentary
Elevating Teacher Voices, Along with Their Salaries to Professionalize Teaching in Louisiana
Salary raises have a direct impact on teachers' day-to-day lives. But efforts like those in Louisiana to elevate teachers' voices, and not just their salaries, are more likely to make a real difference for the teaching profession by creating a clear career ladder. The state's efforts could also be cultivating a teaching force that is providing students with the curricula and instruction they need to achieve at higher levels.
Sep 18, 2019
Blog
Hurricane Dorian, Al Qaeda, Veterans' Health: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap looks at Hurricane Dorian recovery, al Qaeda 18 years after 9/11, veterans' mental health care, and more.
Sep 13, 2019
Commentary
Back to School Means Back to SEL for America's Teachers and Principals
Schools are increasingly adopting programs and practices to build social and emotional learning (SEL) skills. Policymakers can benefit from understanding the educator perspective: how they feel about SEL, what they're doing to promote it, and what resources they need.
Sep 4, 2019
Blog
Drug Spending, Back to School, Korean Unification: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap looks at illegal drug spending, the problem of waking up early for school, possible paths toward Korean unification, and more.
Aug 23, 2019
Report
AEP Data Note Technical Appendix 2
This technical appendix provides additional information about the sample, data, and estimation strategy that were used for a series of AEP Data Notes published by the RAND Corporation in 2019.
Aug 15, 2019
Report
How Prepared Are Educators to Support Diverse Students?
Most principals and teachers surveyed agreed that their preservice training prepared them to lead a school or teach in a classroom, but just over 60 percent of them felt prepared to support nonwhite and low-income students. White educators felt less prepared than their nonwhite peers.
Jul 25, 2019
Periodical
RAND Review: July-August 2019
This issue spotlights a strategy to reduce roadway deaths to zero; a school principal initiative that yielded positive results for schools and students; and a data-driven effort to enhance equity in a major U.S. city.
Jul 1, 2019
Report
Do Educators Have What They Need to Teach Students with Disabilities?
To serve students with high-incidence disabilities, teachers need a supportive school culture, collaboration and planning time, resources and training, access to data, and tools for using data. Survey data sheds light on the extent to which these supports are available to general and special educators in U.S. schools.
Jun 27, 2019
Report
Raising the Bar for Teacher Preparation: Early Signals on How Louisiana's Education Policy Strategies Are Working Across the State
This report, part of a four-part series on the implementation and outcomes of Louisiana's education initiatives, focuses on the state's strategies for K-12 teacher preparation.
Jun 11, 2019
Blog
Theresa May, Emotional Learning, Teachers: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on Theresa May's resignation, social and emotional learning, the value of a good teacher, and more.
May 31, 2019
Research Brief
Support for Social and Emotional Learning Is Widespread
Most U.S. educators believe that social and emotional learning (SEL) improves student outcomes and school climate. They agree that students should develop and apply skills like managing emotions and setting and achieving positive goals. But teachers tend to assign greater importance to SEL skills than principals.
May 30, 2019

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RAND Topic:
Teachers and Teaching

Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

Julia H. Kaufman

Associate Research Department Director, Behavioral and Policy Sciences Department

Julia Kaufman (she/her/hers) is associate research department director for the Behavioral and Policy Sciences Department and a senior policy researcher at the RAND Corporation. She also codirects the RAND American Educator Panels. Her research focuses on how states and school systems can support…
Andrea Phillips

Policy Researcher

Andrea (Andie) Phillips (she/her) is a policy researcher with expertise in education policy, policy analysis, program evaluation, single case design, and qualitative methods and analysis. Phillips’ work focuses on the development, implementation, and evaluation of interventions that promote…

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