For the second year in a row, Frontline Education brings its “K-12 Lens” survey report detailing the current state of education based on several top-of-mind issues according to nearly 800 school administrators. Here are 11 ways education has—and has not—improved according to research about your peers.
You may be familiar with the often-echoed narratives that have been used to describe education over the past few years, such as: teach shortages plague school districts, teacher recruitment is tougher than ever and chronic absenteeism is on the rise. The good news is that administrators are helping make improvements in each of these areas, according to the data.
For example, 66% of districts are reporting teacher shortages in 2025, down from 72% last year, according to the report. Furthermore, suburban areas are more likely to report experiencing teacher shortages, followed by urban and rural districts.
What other issues are administrators addressing? Here’s a look at the remaining 10 key findings from the research.
In 2025, the research suggests:
- The average teacher retention rate is 78%.
- The number of respondents who said retention has become more difficult compared to the prior year has dropped by 30%.
- More than 50% of districts report special education staff shortages.
- The number of districts that reported significant funding decreases in the last year has dropped by 10%.
- The number of districts that reported outsourcing speech-language therapy services in 2025 increased three-fold compared to 2024.
- 93% of district finance leaders who primarily use analytics software for decision-making said that their budget projections were very or fairly accurate in the last year.
- The number of district finance leaders who perceived their budget projections as very or fairly accurate has increased by 15%.
- The number of administrators who said hiring has become more difficult compared to 2024 has dropped by 20%.
- The average chronic absenteeism rate is 17%.
- The chronic absenteeism rate in districts that do not provide mental and behavioral health services is 34%.
For a closer look at the data, read the research here.
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