Student behavior problems continue to plague schools, and educators say they鈥檝e actually grown more serious, according to a recent survey by the EdWeek Research Center.
Nearly half of teachers, school leaders, and district leaders this school year鈥�48 percent鈥攕aid in the survey that students鈥� behavior was a lot worse this fall when compared to their pre-pandemic behavior.
The nationally representative survey of 990 educators鈥�134 district leaders, 97 school leaders, and 759 teachers鈥攚as conducted by the EdWeek Research Center from Dec. 12-19, 2024.
The number of educators who reported worsening student behavior since the pandemic has ticked up since the last time the EdWeek Research Center asked the same question. In early 2023, a third of educators surveyed said students were misbehaving a lot more than before the pandemic shuttered schools.
Student misbehavior has routinely topped teachers鈥� lists of concerns and most pressing challenges in recent years. There鈥檚 been a pronounced spike in behavior problems, ranging from minor classroom disruptions to more serious student fights broadcast on social media, since students returned to school buildings. Teachers have also reported a drop in students鈥� motivation in that time period.
At the same time, schools are working on strategies to better engage students in their learning, reinforce good behavior, and strengthen student-teacher relationships largely in an effort to minimize disruptions.
In the EdWeek Research Center survey, 72 percent of educators said students in their classroom, school, or district have been misbehaving either 鈥渁 little鈥� (24 percent) or 鈥渁 lot鈥� (48 percent) more than in the fall of 2019, the last semester before the COVID-19 pandemic began.
When surveyed in early 2023, 70 percent of educators said students were misbehaving more than in 2019. At that time, 36 percent of respondents said students were misbehaving 鈥渁 little more鈥� while 33 percent said they were misbehaving 鈥渁 lot more.鈥�
In 2021, 66 percent of respondents said their students were misbehaving a little or a lot more than in fall 2019.
In the December 2024 survey, 20 percent of teachers, principals, and district leaders said students misbehave 鈥渁bout the same amount鈥� as in the fall of 2019, down slightly from the 24 percent who said the same in 2023.
Student misbehavior is hurting staff morale, some survey respondents said.
Indeed, past surveys have documented this overall dip in teacher morale. An annual report released in August by the EdWeek Research Center showed that just 18 percent of public school teachers said they are very satisfied with their jobs, a much lower percentage than decades ago, and a slight drop from the year prior when 20 percent of teachers said the same.
In that same report, many elementary and middle school teachers said they need more support in dealing with student discipline, and that the additional help would improve their mental health. Eighty percent of teachers reported they have to address students鈥� behavioral problems 鈥渁t least a few times a week,鈥� with 58 percent saying this happens every day, according to a from April 2024.
鈥淥ur school is really struggling with student behaviors (lots of disrespect and not following the rules, and teachers are almost too tired to even care),鈥� one person wrote in an open-ended response to the EdWeek Research Center鈥檚 December survey. 鈥淲e even had a PD yesterday regarding some of that, and I don鈥檛 think any of the teachers left feeling hopeful or with anything they could take back [to] their classrooms. It鈥檚 really disconcerting that no one is offering solutions to help the teachers.鈥�
Another respondent added that while student behavior in their classroom is about the same, hallways and other common spaces have gotten rowdier. Teachers hare reported that hallway fights鈥斺�攃an ignite cycles of cyberbullying and additional problems later.
鈥淲hen students are outside of class in hallways, gathered during non-class times, etc., there seems to be an increase in lack of awareness of their environment,鈥� the person wrote. 鈥�69传媒, especially underclassmen, are louder, more belligerent, unkind, and socially awkward. There also seems to be a larger population of students who struggle to separate fantasy from reality. Finally, the phone addiction has definitely had a negative impact on students鈥� ability to relate to each other and adults effectively, to maintain focus on tasks at hand, to problem-solve, to persevere, to think creatively, and to appreciate moments of peace.鈥�
Some educators (9 percent) said students are misbehaving less now. One survey respondent credited improved leadership for their school鈥檚 better student behavior.
鈥淥ur student behaviors have improved since 2019 because our administration has improved,鈥� the person wrote in an open-ended response. 鈥淲e now have administrators with teaching experience, whereas in 2019 our administrators had no classroom experience and sometimes showed no ability to even address a group of students effectively.鈥�
Data analysis for this article was provided by the EdWeek Research Center. Learn more about the center鈥檚 work.
