Half of public school leaders surveyed in October report that they feel understaffed, according to data released Thursday by the National Center for Education Statistics. That’s an increase from 45% the year before.
Meanwhile, NCES findings suggest there was no change in the total number of teaching positions, as reported by schools, between the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years.
Staffing issues persist for school leaders amid changes in enrollments and budgets, said NCES Commissioner Peggy Carr in a statement. “Meeting the staffing needs, particularly in filling special education teacher vacancies, continues to be a challenge for schools.”
In fact, 34% of public schools reported that they feel understaffed in special education roles.
Special education is the most understaffed role in schools
As of October 2024, NCES reported that 3% of all public school instructional positions were vacant nationwide. That’s the same vacancy rate as October 2023.
Some 35% of public schools said they had one or more teaching vacancies in October, a 2-percentage-point decrease from the prior year, according to NCES.
At the same time, NCES’ findings show fewer schools are reporting operational impacts — like increasing class sizes or using staff outside of their intended duties — as a result of staff vacancies.
Fewer schools report impacts from teacher and staff vacancies
The NCES data also offered a glimpse into schools’ perceptions of student performance nationwide.
Public school leaders estimated 40% of students were behind grade level in at least one academic subject at the start of the 2024-25 school year, NCES found. Though that estimate has declined in recent years, it remains 8 percentage points above pre-pandemic levels.
The percentage of students behind grade level is on the decline post-COVID
As schools push to recover from pandemic-related learning loss, other research indicates that K-12 leaders have invested more time and resources toward tutoring.
NCES found a majority, or 78%, of public schools reported offering some form of tutoring for students in October 2024, a slight decrease from 82% of public schools in October 2023.
Among public schools that provided tutoring services, the most popular models included standard tutoring and high-dosage tutoring. NCES defined standard tutoring “as a less intensive method” where the same student receives tutoring any number of times per week or on an as-needed basis. Students may receive standard tutoring services 1:1 or with any number of students from an educator who may or may not be specifically trained in tutoring practices.
High-dosage tutoring, on the other hand, was defined by NCES as a service that provides tutoring to students three or more times per week for at least 30 minutes per session. Such services are also offered through 1:1 sessions or in small student groups and they are instructed by an educator who is well-trained in tutoring.
