Education Insights 2025-2026: Engagement Fuels Learning
Education Insights
2025-2026:
Engagement Fuels Learning

New research revealed in our latest Education Insights report gives district and school leaders a clear view of what engagement means in today’s classrooms, and how it impacts learning, motivation, and achievement.
Explore how redefining engagement, supporting educator capacity, and listening to student voice can turn your strategic goals into instructional gains.

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Teachers, principals, and superintendents agree that student engagement is a critical metric for understanding overall achievement.
Almost all students say that engaging lessons make school more enjoyable.
Nearly all superintendents believe student engagement is one of the top predictors of success at school.
While engagement is universally valued, gaps in perception, experience, and support reveal that there’s still work to be done to make learning consistently engaging for all students.
Nearly all students report struggling with boredom at least once a week.
Only a third of teachers say students often ask reflective questions—their top-rated indicator of engagement.
Just half of parents strongly believe that their child is actively focused on learning when they are in school.
“The insights in this report remind us that fueling engagement requires clarity, alignment, and support.”
Dr. Robert P. Taylor
Superintendent,
Wake County Public School System, NC
“As educators, the number one challenge that we have is that the level of engagement for our students varies so much. It could change from student to student, it can change from the context of whatever we’re teaching at the time as well.”
Trish Messer
Math Teacher,
Palm Beach, FL
“I know my kids are truly engaged when they come home and, unprompted, share stories about the classes that interest them most.”
Keri F.
Indianapolis, IN
“I know students are engaged when they are excited to learn and take ownership of their learning.”
Mary Anne Jezierski
Principal,
Northborough, MA
Ready to
Dive Deeper
Ready to
Dive Deeper
Beyond the Buzzword:
Join us for a deep dive into Discovery Education’s 2025–2026 Education Insights Report. You’ll leave with clear takeaways and actionable strategies to help close the engagement gap and create classrooms where students are truly invested.
Check Out Additional Resources
Blog: Engagement Drives Student Success, But What Is It?
Discovery Education Senior Vice President of Curriculum and Instruction Lance Rougeux reflects on the latest Education Insights report, offering his perspective on its findings and what they mean for student engagement today.
Webinar: Beyond the Buzzword: What Engagement Really Looks Like Across K–12
Be sure to listen to our recent conversation as educators unpacked Discovery Education’s 2025–2026 Report, and shared insights and strategies to close engagement gaps and strengthen student investment.
Watch On-Demand Today!
Blog: What Engagement Really Looks Like Across K-12
Find key takeaways from our engagement discussion and learn how leaders are redefining what it means to truly engage students.
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FAQ
The 2025 Education Insights Report brings together the voices of 1,398 superintendents, principals, teachers, parents, and students from rural, suburban, and urban communities across the United States. Their perspectives create a meaningful snapshot of today’s classrooms, highlighting key educational data that shape learning nationwide.
Hanover Research conducted a national survey in May 2025 on behalf of Discovery Education. To add depth beyond the statistics about education, Discovery Education conducted live interviews with stakeholder groups. These conversations brought context to the numbers, allowing us to pair educator, parent, and student engagement statistics with authentic experiences from classrooms.
While this year’s study captured broad participation across the U.S., demographic identifiers were not analyzed in this phase. This remains an important focus for future education reports and will help enrich the growing body of American education statistics that inform decision-making.
Discovery Education conducts this ongoing research to better understand trends in U.S. education and deliver actionable insights for schools and districts. By analyzing student engagement statistics, and broader education data in the United States, we equip educators with clear strategies to support meaningful learning and prepare students for the future, including addressing student stress, adapting to changes in engagement, and exploring emerging topics like AI in education.