2026 Edition
In a year that has raised existential questions about the future of public education, we wanted to know:
What will attract and keep great teachers in classrooms across the country?
Voices from the Classroom 2026 is a blueprint from America’s teachers for moving public education forward and building a profession as talented and diverse as the students we serve.
“Teachers keep getting asked to do more and more with less and less. It seems we’re becoming more and more responsible for every part of the child’s life, and people struggle with that.”
Theme One
77% of teachers will continue to teach for the next three to five years, yet only 11% would recommend the profession to others.
Theme Two
79% support financial rewards for teachers working in hard-to-staff schools.
Theme Three
94% believe all teachers should use evidence-based materials, but only 47% say their curriculum helps students achieve academic standards.
Theme Four
Just 13% of teachers say it has no value in enhancing instruction, but 83% of high school teachers say it has damaged their students’ ability to engage in complex academic tasks.
Theme Five
86% want funding systems to prioritize the highest-needs students, but only 21% believe their state actually does.
Want to explore how teachers across the country really feel?
Read the Report"We asked teachers what works. They told us.
In our new survey, Voices from the Classroom, over 2,000 educators from across the country shared their perspectives about public education and how to move it forward. Download the full report today."(click the image below to download)
“When districts design a curriculum selection process, they have to ask themselves, ‘Who is sitting at the table?’ Teachers need to be there. They can’t be the last to know. It makes all the difference.”
The Voices from the Classroom 2026 survey questionnaire was developed by the National Teacher Leader Council, It was administered by RAND to their American Teacher Panel from March through May 2026. The sample was designed to produce estimates representative of the national population of pre-K through grade 12 public school teachers. 2,032 teachers completed the survey.
“I often need to remind myself that I am educating my students for their future, not my past. This is the reality we are in now, and they need the skills to navigate that.”