"Making the Grade" provides an annual overview of the condition of school finance in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The data in this edition gives a picture of states' investment in their public school systems in the 2019-20 school year, the historic moment when public education, and society at large, experienced the massive…

The 2021 "KIDS COUNT in Colorado!" report examines how children fared during the first year of the COVID-19 crisis. The data included in the report illustrate the pandemic's far-reaching effects on Colorado kids, from increased housing instability and hunger to difficulty accessing health care, child care, preschool and K-12 education.…

"Making the Grade analyzes the condition of public school funding in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The current report presents a picture of school funding in 2020-2021, the first full school year of the COVID-19 pandemic and the most recent data available. The report ranks and grades each state on three measures to answer the…

Our latest research assesses Metro Milwaukee's progress on a range of metrics associated with knowledge and innovation. We find our region has made strides in increasing educational attainment levels and adding scientists, engineers, and technology workers to the regional talent pool. Yet, the news is not as encouraging with regard to…

For 36 years, the "KIDS COUNT® Data Book" has provided a clear, consistent overview of children's well-being, using federal data collected across all 50 states. These reliable national- and state-level measures help leaders see where there is progress, where greater support is needed and which strategies are making a difference. By…

In early August 2020, as educators prepared for an uncertain school year, there was a worrying theme from school district homeless liaisons: numbers of identified homeless students were down--in some cases, significantly down--despite evidence of increased need. In September and October of 2020, a survey was conducted of local educational agency…

This guide was created to help district leaders understand the benefits and drawbacks of the four-day school week, assess their district's readiness to make the switch, and evaluate the results of implementing the new schedule. This guide begins with an overview of common goals and outcomes for the four-day school week. It then provides a set of…

The "Roadmap of Need" is a whole child needs assessment for North Carolina youth, produced annually by the Public School Forum of North Carolina's Center for Afterschool Programs (NC CAP). The Roadmap includes 20 indicators of wellness across four domains: health, youth behavior and safety, education, and economic development. These four…

The Roadmap of Need is a whole child needs assessment for North Carolina youth, produced annually by the Public School Forum of North Carolina's Center for Afterschool Programs (NC CAP). The Roadmap includes 20 indicators of wellness across four domains: health, youth behavior and safety, education, and economic development. These four domains…

Gene Sperling, author of the seminal 2004 report published by the Council on Foreign Relations, and Rebecca Winthrop, director of the Center for Universal Education, have written this definitive book on the importance of girls' education. As Malala Yousafzai expresses in her foreword, the idea that any child could be denied an education due to…

While the United States was recovering from the recent economic stress caused by the Great Recession, individual state economies were improving at a slow pace. In 2012, state education budgets came to a crossroads, as most states had exhausted their allocations of federal stimulus dollars. Prior editions of this report noted how many states used…

"The Roadmap of Need" is a whole child needs assessment for North Carolina youth, produced annually by the Public School Forum of North Carolina's Center for Afterschool Programs (NC CAP). The Roadmap includes 20 indicators of wellness across four domains: health, youth behavior and safety, education, and economic development. These four…

A landmark new study reported that upward mobility in the Keystone State since the late 1990s exceeded that in most parts of the United States. This report, focused on more recent trends, contains some bad economic news. It shows that Pennsylvania's economy has performed poorly from the perspective of typical working families since the end of…

The Roadmap of Need is an in-depth needs assessment for North Carolina youth, produced annually by the Public School Forum of North Carolina's Center for Afterschool Programs (NC CAP). This publication examines 20 indicators of wellness in counties across North Carolina. These indicators contain relevant annual data demonstrating need across North…

The third edition of the National Report Card examines the condition of states' finance systems as the country emerges from the Great Recession, but is still wrestling with its consequences. As in prior editions, this Third Edition of the National Report Card continues to make the case for states to take immediate and longer-term action to improve…