K-12 schools in the United States significantly contribute to greenhouse gas emissions due to aging infrastructure, inefficient energy practices, and a heavy reliance on fossil fuels. Addressing these issues through decarbonization is not just important--it is becoming a critical initiative aimed at reducing environmental impact while…

This paper explores the policy, pedagogy, and practice affordances and constraints of teacher education as an environment to develop pre-service teachers' antiracism commitments. Through critical analysis of interviews with pre-service teachers and teacher educators at three social justice-oriented teacher preparation programs, research findings…

Policymakers' solutions to the problem of inequitable access to postsecondary institutions often focus on the financial barriers students face. However, other barriers are just as significant. Students may face barriers in the logistical aspect of applying to college. They may not have the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in college…

States are working hard to bring the best technology to school districts and ultimately to classrooms and families. In a world in which technology is a required asset--essentially a utility, even if distribution remains inequitable--it raises important questions that the 2022 State EdTech Trends Survey seeks to start answering. How are state…

Substantial evidence supports comprehensive sex education programs as effective means of promoting adolescent sexual health, but evidence on the effect of state-level sex education policy is inconclusive. Multiple states in the U.S. afford local authority in school policy, and existing literature calls for investigation of the impact of local…

Federal incentives and requirements under the Obama administration spurred states to adopt major reforms to their teacher evaluation systems. We examine the effects of these reforms on student achievement and attainment at a national scale by exploiting the staggered timing of implementation across states. We find precisely estimated null effects,…

Florida's developmental education reform has benefitted most students directly impacted by the reform and has helped to reduce existing achievement gaps by race/ethnicity, English Language Learner status, and academic preparation in short-term outcomes like college course-taking and credit accumulation. Even though the reform was not specifically…

We study the impact of a bonus policy implemented by Hawai'i Public Schools starting in fall 2020 that raised the salaries of all special education teachers in the state by $10,000. We estimate that the introduction of this policy reduced the proportion of vacant special education teaching positions by 32%, or 1.2 percentage points, and the…

In 2019, the Texas legislature passed a historic education finance bill that included an initiative to add up to 30 days to the school-year calendar. One way districts can do this is to offer a voluntary summer learning program. In 2020, the American Institutes for Research, with support from The Wallace Foundation, launched the six-year Texas…

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened an ad-hoc committee to examine learning and development in out-of-school time settings across the K-12 age span. To inform its deliberations, the committee held three public sessions, on October 19, 2023, February 8, 2024, and April 18, 2024. This publication summarizes the…

High-quality career and technical education (CTE) and work-based learning opportunities can support students along a pathway to credential attainment, employment and upward economic mobility through intentional skill development and experiential learning. CTE concentration in high school can increase graduation rates while helping students build…

State and local officials must establish effective and supportive transition policies that recognize an ongoing process and include collaboration across ECE settings and elementary schools. This toolkit offers immediate steps needed to strengthen children's transition this coming year and beyond. [Additional funding for this toolkit from the…

State financial aid is a critical piece of college affordability for students from low-income backgrounds. Nearly three quarters of all students attend college in their home state - which is typically a requirement for state-based financial aid - and first-generation and students from low-income backgrounds are even more likely than their peers to…

This study examined the impact of a state policy requiring that any school with a habitual truancy rate of 8% of higher to be trained in Tier 1 school-wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SW-PBIS). A regression discontinuity (RD) design was used to examine how the schools' mandate status related to SW-PBIS training as well as…

During the global pandemic of the 2020-21 school year, school districts rapidly transitioned from the traditional in-person structure of school to distance learning. This research study sought to understand how superintendents envisioned virtual learning as an option within their school district portfolio, exploring the barriers faced in its…