Policy Currents | The newsletter for policy people
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** Aug. 29, 2024
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In this special back-to-school edition of Policy Currents, we're showcasing a selection of new and recent RAND research that shines a light on some of the key issues facing America's students, educators, and schools.
America's Teachers Are Stressed, Overworked, and Underpaid
As students head back to school, America's teachers are stressed out--and burned out. Recent RAND survey data reveal that nearly one in five teachers showed symptoms of depression. Nearly a quarter said they want to leave their job. And three-quarters said they no longer had as much enthusiasm for the job as they once did.
Teachers are also overworked and underpaid compared with other working adults. They reported working 53 hours in an average week, and most said they could make more money if they left teaching.
There are also notable pay disparities within the teaching workforce. The average Black teacher reported making a base salary of around $65,000, while the average white or Hispanic teacher made around $70,000. The pay gap was even more stark for female teachers, whose average salary was around $68,000; the average male teacher made nearly $10,000 more.
RAND researchers have been surveying America's teachers for years, and many of these problems are not new. But addressing them could not be more important--not only to improve teachers' well-being, but to help ensure students' success. After all, an effective teacher can drive up test scores, increase graduation rates, and set students on a path to higher earnings later in life.
With that power to make a difference in mind, here's some good news from our survey: Despite the long hours, the low pay, and the burnout, 72 percent of teachers said they were glad they chose teaching as a career.
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Chronic Absenteeism Is a Problem in U.S. Schools
The prevalence of students missing at least 10 percent of days in a school year skyrocketed in the aftermath of pandemic school closures. Although rates did improve modestly in the 2022-2023 school year, new RAND research shows that chronic absenteeism remains a widespread problem. About one in ten school districts reported chronic absenteeism levels of 30 percent or more last school year. And another two in ten districts reported rates between 20 and 30 percent. The authors offer recommendations that may help educators and policymakers who are struggling to get kids back in the classroom. For instance, districts could focus on improving students' social connectedness at school.
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Teachers Need More Supports to Address Students' Reading Difficulties
Another new RAND study focuses on how teachers are supporting students who are having trouble reading. In a survey of U.S. grade 3-8 teachers across all subjects, respondents estimate that more than 40 percent of their students always or nearly always experience difficulty reading the written content in their instructional materials. Further, most teachers report that they do not have adequate resources to support these students, and many teachers hold misconceptions about how students develop word-reading skills. This suggests that late elementary and middle grade teachers may need more knowledge, training, and evidence-based support to improve students' reading.
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** RAND Recommends
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- The arrest of Telegram's CEO is creating strange bedfellows, RAND's Elina Treyger said in TIME: "It's both the Kremlin and its opponents that are troubled by it, plus the free-speech absolutists. This is not a coalition you see often."
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- AI tools are more likely to replace tasks than jobs, RAND's Carter Price told Newsweek. That may mean that fewer people are needed. Or it could mean that more people are needed, because productivity is much higher with machines doing all the low-value work.
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- In Nikkei Asia, RAND's Jeffrey Hornung discussed how the U.S.-Japan alliance has grown under outgoing leaders U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida: "This is an alliance now focused on the public goods of global peace, stability and prosperity."
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** Events
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Policy Lab: New Evidence for the Effects of U.S. Gun Policies
Thursday, September 26, 2024 (Online)
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** Learn the Tools of Defense Policy Analysis
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Applications are open for Pardee RAND Graduate School's new Master of National Security Policy degree program. Full-time and part-time schedules are available at our campuses in Santa Monica, CA, and Arlington, VA.
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