From Vision to Practice: How District Leaders Would Improve Civic Learning
As the 2026 midterms approach, the public and policymakers are asking whether schools are truly preparing students to participate in civic life. This third brief in our series from the American School District Panel (ASDP), a research partnership between RAND and CRPE, draws on Spring 2026 survey data and interviews with 28 district leaders to […]
A Mile Wide, an Inch Deep: The State of Civic Learning in U.S. School Districts
As the United States marks its 250th anniversary, civic learning is having a moment—but new data suggest that more support is needed to move students from knowing the basics to participating in civics learning and practice within their communities. This brief is the first in a three-part series from the American School District Panel (ASDP), […]
What Counts as Civics? A Look at How Districts Define and Facilitate Civic Learning
A new report from the American School District Panel, a research partnership between RAND and CRPE, examines how districts define and facilitate civic learning in an era of political polarization, competing instructional priorities, and uneven state support. Drawing on survey data from 170 public school districts and in-depth interviews with leaders from 18 systems, the study […]
Managing Through the Noise: How Superintendents See Shifts in the Federal Role in Education
In May 2025, we spoke with about a dozen superintendents across the country—and others who work closely with them—about challenges stemming from recent national events, including a much smaller United States Department of Education (ED), likely changes in federal Title I funding and oversight, and the various executive orders aimed at shifting more responsibility to […]
Still an Impossible Job? Large District Leaders Navigate Hazards—and Need New Solutions
Big city districts face a sea of troubles—from persistent pandemic-related learning loss to student and teacher absenteeism, to declining enrollment, to political pressures and fiscal cliffs. Can district leaders keep this turbulence from disrupting schools and focus on instruction? We raised a similar question over twenty years ago in our report, “An Impossible Job? A […]
When Challenges Never Let Up: School District Leaders Steer through Hazards in Baltimore and Chicago
In the face of financial, political, and capacity constraints, leaders within the Baltimore City Public School System and Chicago Public Schools are making progress toward closing post-pandemic gaps in student learning. They’ve had to choose among imperfect strategies and navigate significant, growing challenges. At times, this has meant taking risks, following strategies they might not […]
Teaching Recovery? Three Years In, School System Leaders Report the Pandemic Weakened Instruction
In this report, we conclude our research on five school systems to reveal the academic, social, and political challenges posed by the pandemic and what leaders and their staff are doing to address student learning loss. This report provides a possible explanation for why we continue to see lackluster student test scores (see for example, […]
Navigating Political Tensions over Schooling: Findings from the Fall 2022 American School District Panel Survey
Public schooling has always been politically fraught, but current disagreements over issues related to race, sexuality, gender, and Covid-19 have reached a tipping point. According to a new report from the Center on Reinventing Public Education and RAND, half of school system leaders say that these disagreements are disrupting schooling. Almost one in three district […]
Whack-A-Mole: School Systems Respond to Disrupted Learning in 2021
This report complements our latest fall 2021 survey research from the American School District Panel with in-depth interviews of leaders on the ground in five school systems.
The State of the American School District: Policy Recommendations for the Road Ahead
This brief highlights five key takeaways from ASDP’s research that have implications for state policy and practice.