"Incomplete: How Middle Class Schools Aren't Making the Grade" is a new report from Third Way, a Washington, D.C.-based policy think tank. The report aims to convince parents, taxpayers and policymakers that they should be as concerned about middle-class schools not making the grade as they are about the failures of the nation's large, poor, urban…

The new call for a universal preschool system is prompting an important policy debate across California. How preschooling is expanded and improved with limited public resources depends on several key issues. The hopeful ideals of "preschool for all"--with children beginning school ready to learn--spark enthusiasm and broaden public will.…

Many new loan and scholarship programs are available, most open to middle-income families. State loans and grants are increasingly attractive, aid packages are more likely to include merit scholarships and complex new financing arrangements offered by schools themselves. Families must learn to shop carefully for good, not gimmicky, aid. (MSE)

The ways middle-income families pay for college are examined, based on a national survey of student aid recipients, especially traditional undergraduate dependent students. Information is provided on the mix between loans, grants, work, and family contribution, as well as the relationship between federal, state, and college-sponsored aid. Examples…

Noting that there is near universal agreement that children from families with higher socioeconomic status (SES) have access to more of the resources needed to support their positive development than do lower SES children, this monograph examines the myriad questions remaining regarding relations among SES, parenting, and child development from a…