The Summer 2026 teacher sentiment report
America’s
Teachers
Are
Turning the Corner
Teacher sentiment climbed five points to 80. Nearly all of that gain came from educators feeling less unhappy rather than more enthusiastic. Workload, the condition driving burnout, has barely changed.
Summer 2026
Attrition Risk
Down from 46.4%. The share of educators weighing an exit dropped 13 points in a single year.
Leadership Support
Down from 46.4%. The share of educators weighing an exit dropped 13 points in a single year.
AI Disruption Surge
AI in education reached 47.0% and is now the #1 trend affecting how educators teach.
Growth Investment
Up from 60.3%. Say district investment in their growth would make them more likely to stay.
Nine Findings One Distinction.
Five points up.
Real Movement.
But look at what didn't move.
The Score rose from 75 to 80, crossing from Strained into Stable. Most of that improvement comes from educators feeling less unhappy rather than more enthusiastic, and the day-to-day conditions driving burnout, workload above all, have barely changed.
01 / Retention Pressure
Two-thirds of educators are no longer considering leaving.
Up 13.0 points from 53.6%. “Yes” fell to 11.6% from 19.4%; “Maybe” fell to 21.9% from 27.0%. Retention improved for every age group, every tenure band and every region, but by amounts that vary more than fourfold, so a national figure this good still hides districts where nothing has changed.
02 / The Ceiling Has Not Moved
Satisfaction rose.
Enthusiasm did not.
Very Satisfied
17.8% last year
Very Manageable
20.7% last year
Very Prepared
13.8% last year
Three top-box measures are flat across twelve months while every bottom box fell sharply: “Very Dissatisfied” dropped 63.8%. The workforce has moved out of acute distress into a broad middle. The group describing its conditions as genuinely good is the same size it was a year ago.
03 / Workload
The one measure that hasn’t caught up with the rest.
report duties
expanded beyond
instruction
Down from 79.5%, and still the majority experience. Workload eased only at the extreme: “Very Overwhelming” fell to 9.1% from 12.6%, while “Somewhat Overwhelming” ticked up from 22.2% to 22.5%. Workload is the one headline measure that has not caught up with the broader improvement in sentiment.
04 / Why They Would Leave
Pay and workload, not burnout, are now the reasons.
Among the 33.4% weighing an exit, salary and workload are the only two reasons that became more common this year. Every other reason, including feeling unable to make a difference and lacking support from administration, became less common.
05 / The Divergence
Late-career educators
moved against the
national trend.
Ages 51–60 · attrition risk
“Somewhat Overwhelming”
Up 8.4pp; “Very Satisfied” Down To 16.5%
National · Attrition Risk
Workload Eased;
Satisfaction Up 10 points
Three top-box measures are flat across twelve months while every bottom box fell sharply: “Very Dissatisfied” dropped 63.8%. The workforce has moved out of acute distress into a broad middle. The group describing its conditions as genuinely good is the same size it was a year ago.
06 / What Morale Doesn’t Fix
Behavior is still the #1 challenge, by a wide margin.
cite student
behavior and
discipline
Behavior fell only 2.8 points and sits 22.1 points ahead of the next issue. Eight of the nine challenges measured declined year over year; school funding was the only one that rose, to 49.2%. Political and legislative interference saw the largest improvement of any challenge, down 11.1 points to 28.2%.
In Educators’ Own Words
What message would you want education leaders to hear?
“Before you make any changes, talk to the teachers. Visit classrooms and see what their needs are and what the needs of the students are. Technology is not teaching students better, it’s getting in the way of learning”
Middle School Educator
“Spend time in the classroom. Not a walk through, not an hour. Choose a classroom that is full to capacity, or has behavior issues and special education, and spend a week or two before you blindly make decisions.”
Elementary School Educator
“We are NOT miracle workers. Give us the support we need and the funding that is needed to teach at the level you want students taught.”
Middle School Educator
“Trust that we know our students best and trust us when we say what those needs are. Increasing testing scores is not what our students need.”“Trust that we know our students best and trust us when we say what those needs are. Increasing testing scores is not what our students need.”
Middle School Educator
The Full Report
Get the data your
team needs to act.
The 2026 Summer Sentiment Report breaks every finding
down with regional, demographic, and tenure-level detail, the
granularity administrators and district leaders need to build
real retention strategies.
- Year-over-year trend analysis across all key metrics
- Correlation-based findings linking workload, pay, and intent to leave
- Open-ended responses in educators’ own words
- Methodology and benchmarking for the Teacher Sentiment Score
Download the report
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