What the Research Says

From the pages of Education Week: a roundup of recent education studies
The Maryland governor's office reports that 4% of the state’s teacher positions are unfilled, meaning nearly 1,600 classrooms don’t have an experienced educator leading students.
New data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development finds that teacher shortages are a global challenge.
Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune/TNS
Teaching Profession What the Research Says How the U.S. Teaching Profession Compares to Global Peers
New data from OECD show global trends in teacher staffing and workloads.
Sarah D. Sparks, September 29, 2026
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4 min read
A classroom in Geneva Elementary School in Geneva County Schools, Geneva, Alabama on August04, 2026
A classroom in Geneva Elementary School in Geneva, Ala., is pictured in August 2026. Alabama still offers pay incentives for teachers in shortage areas, but many states do not, a new report finds.
Trisha Crain/Al.com via TNS
Teaching Profession What the Research Says States Roll Back Pay Incentives for Teachers in High-Need Areas
A new national study finds less differentiated pay for science fields, high-risk student groups.
Sarah D. Sparks, September 29, 2026
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3 min read
Nash Tilman, a participant in the Teacher Academy Pathway, reads The Rose That Grew From Concrete, a poem by Tupac Shakur, to 6th grade students at (Room 14) Robinson Elementary on November 7, 2025 in Fresno. California.
Nash Tilman, a participant in Fresno Unified school district's Teacher Academy Pathway, reads The Rose That Grew From Concrete, a poem by Tupac Shakur, to 6th grade students at Robinson Elementary on Nov. 7, 2025 in Fresno, Calif. A new study examines the extent to which high school education courses help more people become teachers.
Andri Tambunan for Education Week
Recruitment & Retention What the Research Says High School Teacher Academies Work. But There's a Break in the Pipeline
Aspiring teachers of color often hit a wall before making it to the classroom, a new study finds.
Sarah D. Sparks, September 21, 2026
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5 min read
Image of one teacher at a desk working, and the silhouette of another heading toward an exit door.
Collage by Laura Baker/Education Week + Getty
Recruitment & Retention What the Research Says Where Do Teachers Who Leave Their Job Go? See the Charts
District administrators may have more ability to guide teacher turnover than they think, new data suggest.
Sarah D. Sparks, September 3, 2026
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4 min read
Student Caleb McDowell participates in an AI tutoring program at Nina Otero Community School in Santa Fe, N.M., on Jan. 23, 2025.
Student Caleb McDowell participates in an AI tutoring program at Nina Otero Community School in Santa Fe, N.M., on Jan. 23, 2025. Emerging research suggests that the level of involvement by a human tutor is a key factor in the effectiveness of AI-assisted tutoring.
Minesh Bacrania for Education Week
Artificial Intelligence What the Research Says When Does AI Help Most With Tutoring? What Emerging Research Says
A brief from Stanford's SCALE initiative examines the existing evidence on using AI in tutoring.
Lauraine Langreo, August 28, 2026
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4 min read
A silhouette of a girl's profile has the quote "I love your confidence in expressing your opinion!" on top of it on torn pieces of paper. She is facing a silhouette of a boy's profile that has the quote "Try providing additional evidence or examples from the article to support this claim." on top of it, also on torn pieces of paper.
Illustrations by Emily Wright for Education Week + Getty
Artificial Intelligence What the Research Says AI Changes Its Feedback on Students' Writing When It Knows Their Race, Gender
AI makes judgments based on the writer's characteristics—a problem if teachers use it as a writing coach.
Sarah D. Sparks, June 18, 2026
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6 min read
Teacher planning time. Planner book with a stopwatch that is adding minutes.
Collage by Vanessa Solis/Education Week + E+ with Canva
School & District Management What the Research Says How These Schools Doubled Teacher Planning Time
A California pilot program adjusted school schedules to give teachers more time.
Sarah D. Sparks, May 6, 2026
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6 min read
Images of impact on students during the COVID-19 pandemic including wearing masks, social distancing, empty classrooms, and some symbols of executive function.
Collage by Laura Baker/Education Week + Charles Krupa/AP
Student Well-Being & Movement What the Research Says Kids' Executive Function Skills Took a Hit During COVID. What Can Schools Do?
Children are struggling to master skills related to memory, attention, and self-control.
Lauraine Langreo, May 4, 2026
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6 min read
Learning Support Teacher Susannah Campbell speaks with prospective applicants during William Penn School District's teachers job fair at the high school's cafeteria in Lansdowne, Pa., Wednesday, May 3, 2023. As schools across the country struggle to find teachers to hire, more governors are pushing for pay increases and bonuses for the beleaguered profession.
Learning-support teacher Susannah Campbell speaks with prospective applicants during the William Penn school district's teachers job fair in Lansdowne, Pa., on May 3, 2023. New research of a Maryland program that develops high schoolers' interest in teaching shows that such efforts can pay off.
Matt Rourke/AP
Recruitment & Retention What the Research Says This State Invested in Helping High Schoolers Become Teachers. Did It Work?
The decade-old program significantly boosted the pipeline of diverse new educators.
Sarah D. Sparks, April 9, 2026
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4 min read
Illustration of AI robot manipulating a child's mind like a puppet on a string, the girl is using a laptop and interacting with an AI chatbot.
iStock
Artificial Intelligence What the Research Says AI Chatbots Tend Toward Flattery. Why That's Bad for Students
Flattering technology can make people less willing to admit they are wrong.
Sarah D. Sparks, March 26, 2026
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6 min read
An illustration of a professional female holding the lines that divide the week days of a calendar and removing the first line so that it's knocking the letters MON off the grid.
iStock/Getty
Recruitment & Retention What the Research Says Do 4-Day School Weeks Attract and Retain Better Teachers? What the Largest Study Yet Says
Shortened schedules may do less than district leaders hope to improve turnover and teacher quality.
Sarah D. Sparks, January 23, 2026
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3 min read
Middle school students in Spokane, Wash., are allowed to use their cellphones before they enter the building.
Middle school students in Spokane, Wash., are allowed to use their cellphones before they enter school buildings. While Washington state doesn't have a statewide mandate, at least 33 other states and the District of Columbia require school districts to ban or restrict students’ use of cellphones in schools, according to an Education Week tally.
Kaylee Domzalski/Education Week
Classroom Technology What the Research Says How Much Time Do Teens Spend on Their Phones During School?
Teenagers' most-used apps are social media, video, and gaming.
Lauraine Langreo & Gina Tomko, January 14, 2026
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4 min read
As the teaching workforce increasingly skews younger, paying for educator's parental leave increases the financial pressure on districts.
As the teaching workforce increasingly skews younger, paying for educator's parental leave increases the financial pressure on districts.
LM Otero/AP
Teaching Profession What the Research Says How Much Would It Cost States to Support Parental Leave for Teachers?
Two-thirds of states do not guarantee teachers parental leave, a new national study finds.
Sarah D. Sparks, January 13, 2026
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2 min read
Middle school girl student playing a hand game with her friend on a school bus.
E+
Student Well-Being & Movement What the Research Says Don't 86 the Six-Seven: Those Annoying Kid Trends Actually Have a Purpose
Children's culture can seem bizarre, but these fads can boost their social development.
Sarah D. Sparks, November 20, 2025
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5 min read