This page collects more than 100 statistics on classroom management, teacher stress and turnover, student behavior, attendance, belonging, and the research behind positive reinforcement. Every figure links to the page where it was read. Last checked October 24, 2026. Compiled by Clay Shumate, a secondary classroom teacher.
Key takeaways
- 55% of public school teachers report frequent job-related stress, compared with 34% of similar working adults (RAND, 2026).
- 58% of public K-12 teachers deal with student behavior problems every day (Pew Research Center, 2023 survey).
- 64% of teachers said student behavior got worse over the past year (EdWeek Research Center, 2025).
- Teacher turnover was 18.7% where leadership support was rated low and 9.0% where it was rated high (Learning Policy Institute).
- National chronic absence nearly doubled, from 15% in 2018-19 to 28% in 2021-22 (Brookings Institution).
- In a randomized trial, students in schoolwide PBIS schools were 33% less likely to get an office discipline referral (Pediatrics, 2012).
- Pooled analyses do not show a significant PBIS effect on suspensions and expulsions, so the evidence is strongest for referrals and problem behavior (Washington State Institute for Public Policy).
- 78% of students in grades 6-12 had a teacher who made them excited about the future (Gallup, 2025).
- Only 55% of high school students said they felt close to people at their school (CDC, 2023).
Teacher stress, turnover, pay, and shortages
Teachers report more stress than comparable workers, and the people who leave most often cite support and student behavior. Methods differ between sources, so figures for the same year can differ slightly.
| Statistic | Data year | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 55% of K-12 public school teachers report frequent job-related stress, versus 34% of comparable working adults. | 2026 | RAND |
| 52% of teachers named managing student behavior as their top source of job stress. | 2026 | RAND |
| 18% of teachers said they were likely to leave their job by the end of the 2025-26 school year. | 2026 | RAND |
| Teachers average $75,599 in base pay, while similar working adults average slightly over $105,000. | 2026 | RAND |
| 77% of U.S. public K-12 teachers say their job is frequently stressful. | 2023 (published 2024) | Pew Research Center |
| 52% of teachers would not advise a young person starting out today to become a teacher. | 2023 | Pew Research Center |
| About 8% of public school teachers left teaching and another 8% moved schools; about 84% stayed. | 2020-21 to 2021-22 | NCES (Teacher Attrition and Mobility) |
| 15.1% of public school teachers moved schools (8.0%) or left the profession (7.1%) in one year; 74% of that turnover was voluntary and not retirement. | 2020-21 to 2021-22 | Learning Policy Institute |
| Turnover was 18.7% for teachers who rated school leadership support low, versus 9.0% for those who rated it high. | 2020-21 to 2021-22 | Learning Policy Institute |
| At least 425,412 U.S. teaching positions were unfilled or held by teachers not fully certified, about 1 in 8. | 2026 | Learning Policy Institute |
| 74% of public schools had trouble filling a vacancy at the start of the school year, down from 79% the year before. | 2024-25 | NCES (School Pulse Panel) |
| The U.S. had about 3.8 million public school teachers, up 11% from 3.4 million in 2011-12; about half teach secondary grades. | 2020-21 | NCES (Condition of Education) |
| Teachers report working about 50 hours a week, versus the 40 hours most are contracted for. | 2024 survey | Gallup / Walton Family Foundation |
| Only 45% of teachers are satisfied with their pay. | 2024 survey | Gallup / Walton Family Foundation |
| 36% of teachers are not satisfied with their school’s leadership; 57% are not satisfied with district leaders. | 2024 survey | Gallup / Walton Family Foundation |
| 53% of teachers say changing how administrators and policies handle discipline would greatly improve their morale. | Aug-Nov 2025 | EdWeek Research Center |
| The median high school teacher salary is $72,040 per year. | May 2025 | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics |
| Employment of high school teachers is projected to be flat from 2025 to 2035, with about 63,500 openings per year. | 2025-2035 projection | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics |
| Teachers earn 26.9% less in weekly wages than comparable college graduates, a record gap; it was 6.1% in 1996. | 2024 | Economic Policy Institute |
| The U.S. average teacher salary was $72,030. | 2023-24 | National Education Association |
| Alabama’s average teacher salary was $61,912, ranked 33rd nationally. | 2023-24 | National Education Association |
| Alabama’s starting teacher salary was $44,610, ranked 31st; the U.S. average starting salary was $46,526. | 2023-24 | National Education Association |
| Alabama districts reported 3,413 educator shortage positions entering 2025-26, up about 23% from 2,771 the year before. This counts positions held by substitute, emergency, temporary, or out-of-field teachers. Reported figure: the state data was relayed by a local news station. | 2025-26 | WBMA / ABC 3340 (citing state data) |
| Elementary education was Alabama’s largest shortage area at 751 positions, up roughly 37% from 548. | 2025-26 | WBMA / ABC 3340 (citing state data) |
Student behavior, discipline, and phones
Most of these figures are teacher or school-reported, so they describe what educators perceive and report. Check the year on each row: the surveys were fielded at different times and should not be read as one trend line.
| Statistic | Data year | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 36% of public schools said students showed disrespect to teachers or staff at least once a week. | 2023-24 | NCES (School Pulse Panel) |
| 17% of public schools reported students verbally abusing teachers or staff weekly. | 2023-24 | NCES (School Pulse Panel) |
| 26% of public schools said lack of focus or inattention had a severe negative impact on learning. | 2023-24 | NCES (School Pulse Panel) |
| 61% of public schools said they needed classroom management training, up from 50% two years earlier. | May 2024 | NCES (School Pulse Panel) |
| Weekly verbal abuse of teachers rose from 5% to 10% of schools, and weekly disrespect from 9% to 15%. | Through 2019-20 | NCES (Condition of Education) |
| 32% of public school teachers said student misbehavior interferes with their teaching, down from 41% in 2011-12 and 43% in 2015-16. | 2020-21 | NCES (Condition of Education) |
| 37% of middle school teachers and 27% of high school teachers said misbehavior interferes with teaching; teachers with 3 or fewer years of experience reported 36%. | 2020-21 | NCES (Condition of Education) |
| 80% of public K-12 teachers handle student behavior problems at least a few times a week, and 58% handle them daily. | 2023 (published 2024) | Pew Research Center |
| 68% of public K-12 teachers said students have verbally abused them, and 40% said they have experienced physical violence. | 2023 (published 2024) | Pew Research Center |
| 48% of educators said student behavior was “a lot worse” than before the pandemic, and 72% said at least somewhat worse. | Dec 2024 | EdWeek Research Center |
| 64% of teachers said student behavior got worse over the past year: 76% of elementary, 61% of middle, and 54% of high school teachers. | Aug-Nov 2025 | EdWeek Research Center |
| 8% of teachers said a student had physically assaulted or attacked them in the past year; for principals it was 20%. | July-Aug 2022 | EdWeek Research Center |
| 26% of teachers said they feared for their physical safety at school. | Jan 2023 | RAND |
| 27% of female teachers feared being harmed or attacked at school, versus 14% of male teachers. | 2023-24 | RAND |
| 19.3% of high school students said they were disciplined unfairly in the past year. | 2023 | CDC (MMWR, YRBS) |
| 13% of high schoolers skipped school because they felt unsafe, up from 7% in 2013 and 9% in 2021. | 2023 | CDC (YRBS) |
| 72% of high school teachers call student cellphone distraction a major problem, versus 33% of middle school and 6% of elementary teachers. | Fall 2023 (published 2024) | Pew Research Center |
| 77% of U.S. adults support in-class phone bans, and 48% support all-day bans. | May-June 2026 | Pew Research Center |
| 77% of public schools ban student cell phone use during any class: 86% of elementary schools but only 55% of high schools. | Dec 2024 | NCES (School Pulse Panel) |
| After a Florida phone ban in one large district, unexcused absence days fell 5-10%, mainly in middle and high school. | 2023-24 and 2024-25 | Education Next |
| In that same single-district study, the suspension rate spiked 25% versus the prior-year month in year one, then returned to pre-ban levels in year two. | 2023-24 and 2024-25 | Education Next |
| 46% of K-12 Gen Z students do not strongly agree they have any of eight engaging school experiences. | Apr-May 2024 | Gallup |
| The national out-of-school suspension rate was 5%, down from a 7% peak in 2009-10; secondary students were at 7%, versus 2% in elementary. | 2017-18 | Learning Policy Institute |
| Students with disabilities were suspended out of school at 9%, versus 4% for students without disabilities. | 2017-18 | Learning Policy Institute |
| In a survey of more than 75,000 students in 310 Virginia middle schools, positive climate (clear rules and positive teacher-student relationships) was linked to as much as 10% fewer suspensions. Trade-press report of university research. | 2018 | K-12 Dive |
Chronic absenteeism and attendance
Chronic absence means missing about 10% or more of school days. It has fallen since its 2021-22 peak, but it remains above pre-pandemic levels nationally.
| Statistic | Data year | Source |
|---|---|---|
| National chronic absence nearly doubled, from 15% in 2018-19 to 28% in 2021-22. | 2018-19 to 2021-22 | Brookings Institution |
| Chronic absenteeism peaked at 28.5% in 2021-22 (15.0% in 2018-19), then fell to 25.4% in 2022-23 and 23.5% in 2023-24. | 2021-22 to 2023-24 | American Enterprise Institute |
| More than 14 million students were chronically absent. | 2021-22 | NCES |
| Teachers estimated about 22% of K-12 students were chronically absent, above the pre-pandemic level of about 15%. | 2024-25 | RAND |
| Among youths who missed school, 10% said feeling down or anxious was the reason, and 67% said sickness. | 2024-25 | RAND |
| 13-year-olds who missed 5 or more school days in the past month doubled from 5% to 10%. | 2020 to 2023 | NAEP (Nation’s Report Card) |
| Alabama’s chronic absenteeism rate was 17.9% on the state report card. | 2022-23 | Alabama State Department of Education |
| Alabama’s state education department set a goal to cut chronic absenteeism by 50% in five years. | Announced Sept 2024 | Alabama State Department of Education |
| Alabama’s chronic absenteeism rate fell to 12.05% from 14.84%. Reported figure: news coverage of the state report card. | 2024-25 | Alabama Reflector |
| Alabama’s chronic absence fell to about 12%, down from an 18% peak in 2022. Reported figure: news coverage of state data. | 2024-25 | The 74 |
Belonging, engagement, and student wellbeing
Surveys of students show most feel they have a supportive adult, and far fewer feel close to their school or interested in their lessons. Gallup’s figures come from student polls in different years, so compare them with care.
| Statistic | Data year | Source |
|---|---|---|
| About 55% of high schoolers said they felt close to people at their school. | 2023 | CDC (YRBS) |
| Persistent sadness or hopelessness rose from 30% of high schoolers in 2013 to 40% in 2023. | 2013 to 2023 | CDC (YRBS) |
| Highly connected students had roughly 30-37% lower rates of poor mental health and suicide-risk indicators (adjusted prevalence ratio 0.63-0.70). | 2023 | CDC (MMWR) |
| 78% of students in grades 6-12 had a teacher who made them excited about the future, up from 70% in 2023. | 2025 | Gallup |
| 74% of students in grades 6-12 had an adult at school who encouraged their goals and dreams. | 2025 | Gallup |
| 54% of high schoolers rated themselves “thriving”, compared with 60% of middle schoolers. | 2025 | Gallup |
| 79% of Gen Z K-12 students (ages 14-19) said a teacher or adult encourages their goals and dreams. | 2026 | Gallup |
| 67% of students feel they belong at school, and 63% say teachers make them feel schoolwork is important, up from 57% in 2023. | 2026 | Gallup |
| Only half (50%) of middle and high schoolers said all or most of their teachers were excited about what they teach. | 2025 | Walton Family Foundation (Gallup study) |
| 42% of secondary students said their teachers make lessons interesting. | 2025 | Walton Family Foundation (Gallup study) |
| Just 37% of secondary students said teachers connect lessons to the real world. | 2025 | Walton Family Foundation (Gallup study) |
| 49% of middle and high schoolers said they lost interest in math about half the time or more. | 2025 | RAND |
| Only 39% of 10th graders feel they belong at school most of the time, versus 62% of their parents who think they do. | Published Jan 2025 | Brookings Institution |
| 47% of public K-12 teachers said students showing little or no interest in learning is a major problem. | 2023 (published 2024) | Pew Research Center |
| 28% of teachers help students with mental health challenges every day, and 57% do so at least a few times a week. | 2023 (published 2024) | Pew Research Center |
| Secondary teachers can see over 150 students a day, and students may have seven or eight teachers daily. | Published Nov 2024 | Learning Policy Institute |
| 13-year-olds’ average NAEP math score fell 9 points from 2020 to 2023 and 14 points from 2012; reading fell 4 points. | 2023 | NAEP (Nation’s Report Card) |
| Only 14% of 13-year-olds read for fun almost every day, down 13 points from 2012. | 2023 | NAEP (Nation’s Report Card) |
| The national four-year graduation rate for public high schoolers was 87%. | 2021-22 | NCES (Condition of Education) |
| The graduation rate was 81% for Black students and 90% for White students. | 2021-22 | NCES (Condition of Education) |
| Alabama’s grade 8 NAEP reading average was 250, below the national public-school average of 257. | 2024 | NCES / NAEP |
| In Alabama, 21% of grade 8 students were at or above NAEP Proficient in reading, and 59% were at or above Basic. | 2024 | NCES / NAEP |
| Alabama’s statewide graduation rate rose to 91.6% from 90% the year before. Reported figure: news coverage of the state report card. | 2024-25 | Alabama Reflector |
What the research says about positive reinforcement and PBIS
The strongest findings are for lower problem behavior and office referrals, and for the value of positive teacher-student relationships. Some effects are small, and the evidence on suspensions is mixed, so each row says what kind of study it comes from. Most studies here are from elementary schools or are older, so apply them to grades 6-12 with care.
| Statistic | Data year | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Schoolwide PBIS was in use in more than 16,000 U.S. schools. | 2012 | Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health |
| More than 25,000 U.S. schools were implementing PBIS Tier 1. Secondary summary of the evidence. | 2023 | County Health Rankings & Roadmaps |
| In a randomized trial of 37 elementary schools and 12,344 students over 4 years, students in PBIS schools were 33% less likely to get an office discipline referral (adjusted odds ratio 0.67). | 2012 (trial 2002-2007) | Pediatrics (via PubMed Central) |
| In the same trial, teacher-rated disruptive behavior fell with an effect size of 0.12 and concentration problems with 0.08. Both are small but statistically significant. | 2012 | Pediatrics (via PubMed Central) |
| A meta-analysis of 18 studies found schoolwide PBIS lowers problem behavior, including suspensions and office referrals, with a mean effect size of 0.26. | 2020 | National Institute of Justice (CrimeSolutions) |
| A meta-analysis of 29 studies (7 randomized trials, 22 quasi-experimental) found small-to-medium reductions in discipline problems and gains in achievement from schoolwide PBIS. | 2020 | Office of Justice Programs (Lee & Gage) |
| A benefit-cost analysis found PBIS cut office discipline referrals by an effect size of -0.252, a statistically significant drop. | Review updated 2018 | Washington State Institute for Public Policy |
| The same analysis estimates $15.05 in benefits per $1 of cost (about $207 per participant per year, in 2013 dollars), with a 73% chance that benefits exceed costs. | Updated 2024 | Washington State Institute for Public Policy |
| Caveat: the same analysis found no significant effect of PBIS on suspensions and expulsions (-0.010, 2 effect sizes, p = .92). | 2018 review | Washington State Institute for Public Policy |
| A meta-analysis of 119 studies and 355,325 students found a mean correlation of r = .31 between learner-centered teacher-student relationships and student outcomes. | 2007 | Review of Educational Research (Cornelius-White) |
| A meta-analysis of 99 studies found positive teacher-student relationships linked to student engagement in 61 studies covering 88,417 students, a medium-to-large association. | 2011 | Review of Educational Research (Roorda et al.) |
| The same meta-analysis found relationship effects were generally stronger in higher grades; links to achievement were small to medium. | 2011 | Review of Educational Research (Roorda et al.) |
| Hattie’s list ranks teacher-student relationships 75th of 252 influences on learning, with an effect size of d = 0.52. | 2017 list | Visible Learning (John Hattie) |
| On the same list, classroom management has d = 0.35 (rank 134) and decreasing disruptive behavior has d = 0.34 (rank 138); feedback is higher at d = 0.70 (rank 32). | 2017 list | Visible Learning (John Hattie) |
| A meta-analysis of universal programs to improve student-teacher relationships identified 44 practices, 14 of them proactive and direct; programs with the most of these practices had the largest effects. | 2020 | Review of Educational Research (Kincade, Cook & Goerdt) |
| A meta-analysis of 128 experiments found tangible rewards tied to simply engaging in a task lowered later free-choice motivation (d = -0.40). | 1999 | Psychological Bulletin (Deci, Koestner & Ryan) |
| The same meta-analysis found verbal rewards (positive feedback) raised free-choice motivation (d = 0.33) and self-reported interest (d = 0.31); the free-choice gain was not significant for children (d = 0.11). | 1999 | Psychological Bulletin (Deci, Koestner & Ryan) |
| A systematic review and meta-analysis of student-delivered praise covered 36 articles from 1976 to 2024; “tootling” (peer praise) was classed as an evidence-based practice. | 2024 | Frontiers in Education (Royer & Ennis) |
| In a single-case study of 4 high-risk second graders, behavior-specific praise produced a large effect size of 1.90. This is very small-sample evidence. | 2025 | Frontiers in Education (editorial) |
| A meta-analysis of 53 cases from 34 publications found suspension is significantly and negatively related to academic achievement, more strongly for out-of-school suspension. Causation cannot be proven. | 2015 | Policy Analysis for California Education (summary of Noltemeyer et al.) |
How these statistics were gathered
Each figure was read on the page linked in its row, and figures that could not be confirmed on the page were left out. Priority went to government agencies, universities, peer-reviewed research, and established survey organizations, in line with the editorial standards. Where a figure comes from a news report of state data, the row says so. Sources use different survey methods and years, so numbers on similar topics (for example, teacher turnover) can differ. Descriptions are written in plain language and may simplify the source’s wording; the linked page is the authority.
If you spot an error or a newer figure, please use the contact page. This page is reviewed and added to as new data is released.
How to cite this page
Please cite the original source linked in the table where you can. If you cite this page, use: Shumate, C. (2026). Classroom Management and Positive Reinforcement Statistics. Elevate the Norm. https://elevatethenorm.com/classroom-management-statistics/
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