Two extensive new surveys from Langer Research Associates have been released in the past two weeks, one exploring attitudes and experiences among public school teachers in Texas, the other evaluating vaccine uptake and related attitudes among a national, random sample of college students.

The Texas study, produced for the Charles Butt Foundation, finds vast numbers of Texas teachers feeling undervalued, underpaid and overworked – with consequences for retention. Seventy-seven percent have seriously considered leaving the profession, up 19 percentage points in two years. Seventy-two percent have taken concrete steps to do so, from preparing resumes and conducting job searches to interviewing for another position. Even excluding those nearing retirement age, six in 10 expect to move on within five years.

Pay is a major factor: Eighty-one percent of Texas teachers say their pay is unfair, up 12 points in a year. Forty-one percent report working an additional job out of financial need, in most cases during the school year. And morale has suffered sharply, with the share of teachers who feel valued by Texans overall falling from 44 percent two years ago to 17 percent now – the single largest change in three years of Texas teacher surveys.

The survey identifies several actionable retention strategies. A broad 80 percent of teachers say input into school and district decision-making would be highly important in encouraging them to continue working as a public school teacher; only 16 percent feel they have this in their current position. A significant pay increase and improved work culture and environment also would be highly impactful.

See the full report and our accompanying qualitative study of Texas teachers’ attitudes here. We’ve seen pickup in the Dallas Morning News, the Houston Chronicle, KBTX in Austin, the Texas Tribune, San Antonio Report, Longview News-Journal, and in county newspapers across the state.

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Our national study for the American College Health Association finds that COVID-19 vaccination among college students exceeds uptake among all adults nationally, with campus vaccine requirements a decisive factor.

The survey finds that 85 percent of college students are vaccinated, rising to nearly universal uptake at colleges that require it. Such vaccine requirements are a significant, independent predictor of student vaccination. And about eight in 10 students at campuses with these requirements in place say they feel safer as a result.

Vaccination lags at two-year colleges and the survey finds substantial hesitancy among students who are not vaccinated, as well as among those who are vaccinated but have not received a booster shot. It identifies communication obstacles, with fewer than half of students reporting getting at least a good amount of information about COVID-19 or COVID-19 vaccines from their college. Incoming students had low awareness of their schools’ vaccine or mask requirements.

The survey also assesses uptake of other vaccines and college students’ healthcare experiences. The full report, produced for the ACHA’s CoVAC (Campus COVID-19 Vaccination and Mitigation Initiative), is available here. Also see coverage in the Chronicle of Higher Education and Inside Higher Ed.