AI tools are moving into classrooms faster than researchers can study them, and education leaders are being asked to make decisions about AI with little evidence to consult. A new review from @Stanford University’s AI Hub for Education looked at more than 800 papers on AI in K-12 education and found only 20 with strong enough evidence to say an AI tool actually changed outcomes. While policymakers and schools shouldn’t wait for perfect evidence to act, the research suggests that decisions about adopting AI should focus on specific uses, not excitement about the technology itself. nctq.org/research-insights/a…

Fall brings a familiar kind of optimism: a new school year, a fresh start, and thousands of new teachers meeting their students for the first time. NCTQ President @HeatherPeske’s latest op-ed asks: How many of this year's new teachers will still be in their classrooms next fall? Teacher turnover remains a serious problem, especially in high-poverty schools. If we’re serious about keeping great teachers, we need to get serious about investing in and supporting them. nctq.org/research-insights/t…

Just listening to someone talk about teaching isn’t the same as learning to teach. Neither is reading about teaching. Strong teacher preparation requires extensive opportunities to practice, get feedback, and try again. New research found that teacher candidates who practiced a specific skill in a simulated classroom, working with a trained actor and getting coached along the way, outperformed candidates who only read about it—both right away and later in their own student teaching classrooms. As AI makes these simulations cheaper to run, that kind of simulation could become the norm instead of the exception. nctq.org/research-insights/p…

Oklahoma's teacher certification pass rates vary widely by prep program, from 100% to 15%. NCTQ President @HeatherPeske told @OklahomaWatch that the state’s aggregated pass-rate data doesn’t show where candidates are actually struggling, and pointed to Utah as a model worth following: After Utah started publishing first-time pass rates by program for its reading licensure test, pass rates rose 30% as schools compared results and worked together to improve. More transparent program-level data could do the same for Oklahoma. oklahomawatch.org/2026/09/01…

State education agencies play a critical role in holding teacher prep programs accountable for producing teachers who are ready to deliver strong instruction. NCTQ Chief of Teacher Prep @RonNobleJr made that case at @CCSSO's Chief Academic Officer/Chief Talent Officer Collaborative last week, presenting on how states can use data to strengthen educator preparation. He highlighted @EducateIN's great work to pair clear expectations and support for teacher prep programs with accountability, as well as @MASchoolsK12's strong early literacy standards for teacher prep. 💪 Thank you, CCSSO, for the opportunity to bring our Teacher Prep Review data to the state leaders responsible for supporting strong K-12 instruction!

This trend may not be unique to teaching (I’d venture to say most people are feeling the pinch), but we’re going to lose quality prospective and in-service teachers if it keeps moving in the same direction. Districts can’t pull more money out of thin air, but they can at least be more strategic to make the best use of the funds they have, like front-loading pay to support retention in the early years rather than holding larger raises until late in their career.

District Policy Pathfinder is really cool!

Watch what happens when a first-year teacher in a large district goes from financially supporting only themselves to supporting themselves plus one child. Nearly every district on the chart shifts below the living-wage line. Use our interactive chart to explore how teacher pay changes with location, household type, degree level, and experience. The results underscore why districts need to prioritize competitive starting salaries and meaningful raises earlier in teachers’ careers. nctq.org/research-insights/r…

When teachers enter the classroom without adequate preparation, they’re more likely to struggle and leave. The result is a revolving door that leaves students without consistent, high-quality instruction. With more than 42,000 uncertified teachers in its classrooms, Texas is investing more than $400 million annually in recruitment, preparation, certification, and mentoring to reverse the trend. Their story is a reminder that quick fixes become expensive problems to undo. learningpolicyinstitute.org/…

Teacher compensation is the largest line item in schools’ budgets—and the most powerful lever available to solve the workforce challenges schools face. But are states using those dollars effectively? In two weeks, we’ll release a new analysis examining whether states’ compensation policies help schools fill their toughest vacancies, retain effective teachers, and direct limited dollars toward what works. Look out for the report!

New research from @WaltonFamilyFdn and @Gallup finds that public confidence in schools has reached a 27-year low. Restoring trust will require visible progress in student learning, supported by well-prepared teachers and strong, evidence-based instruction. apnews.com/article/education…

Too many new teachers say they feel underprepared to deal with classroom misbehavior. Better preparation for aspiring teachers in classroom management can change that. Our framework helps teacher prep programs take research-backed actions to better serve aspiring teachers—so they can teach, and students can learn. buff.ly/jP68eth

Teacher salaries are up, but are teachers actually better off? We examined salary data from 133 large school districts and found that despite higher salaries, teachers have less buying power today than they did a decade ago due to inflation. bit.ly/4dbga4Z

Incredibly sobering results. There's plenty to debate about what drove the declines, including excessive tech and AI use. But we can't let the debate over what went wrong distract from what our students need now: effective teachers and strong instruction.

You don’t see many Ford Model Ts on the road today for a reason. We’ve spent the past century improving how cars are designed to better meet people’s needs. Yet many schools still rely on a staffing model built for that same era, even as teacher shortages persist and teachers leave the profession far earlier on average. What could a modern model look like? Imagine teams of teachers sharing responsibility for a larger group of students, highly effective teachers coaching their colleagues, teacher residents gaining experience with support, and teachers earning more for taking on leadership roles. Check out our guide for more on reimagining the profession: buff.ly/xIWiB4j

Passing a strong reading policy is an important step, but it takes careful implementation for that policy to improve instruction. Last week, NCTQ’s @Shannon_Holston and @RonNobleJr joined leaders from @AlabamaAchieves, @OSSEDC, @mieducation, and @PADeptofEd to develop strategies to implement their states’ recent reading policies and identify the data they’ll use to monitor progress. 👏