A randomized experiment that measures the impact of a social policy in a sample of the population reveals whether the policy will work on average with universal application. An experiment that includes only the subset of the population that volunteers for the intervention generates narrower "proof-of-concept" evidence of whether the…

Many welfare programs give greater benefits to unmarried individuals than to a married couple of otherwise identical income. The resulting marriage penalty discourages marriage and rewards single parenthood. Combined marriage penalties across federal and state welfare programs can reach tens of thousands of dollars per year for a given family. One…

In the United States, adult and workforce education (AE) seems to be located, simultaneously, both everywhere and nowhere in particular. Ongoing shifts in national economic demands and changes in requirements for training and education have brought learning in the adult years into the federal public policy arena. Sometimes referred to as lifelong…

This issue brief is one in a series examining timely topics that are relevant to Black families and children in the United States. The series identifies key information and opportunities for consideration by policymakers, researchers, practitioners, philanthropists, and others interested in supporting the progress of Black families and…

The FNS Research Corner provides a continuing series to summarize recently completed and current research conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) in the area of child nutrition. Summaries of recently completed research projects, research conducted through grant activities, and in-progress research are…

The author analyzes the growth and nature of internal evaluation from the 1960s to the present and suggests that internal evaluation has been on the increase because of its perceived importance. Although the 1960s were characterized by a rich intellectual development of evaluation theory and practice, the fiscal conservatism of the 1980s ushered…

Every parent recognizes the inextricable connections between where we live and the quality of our children's education. Although public policies have historically contributed to disparities in both neighborhood affordability and school quality, federal programs focused on affordable housing rarely take public schools into account and school…

In the past 150 years, educational systems have expanded and become integrally linked with economic, political, and social status in modern nation-states. As the stakes for education have risen, so has the call for more and improved use of scientific evidence as a basis for educational policymaking. Evidence from averaged scores on international…

Summarizes statements related to two major issues pertaining to S.991, The Department of Education Act of 1977. The issues are: (1) the advisability of creating a separate cabinet level department of education, and (2) the advisability of including Head Start in that department. (CM)

Professional behavior during the General Accounting Office's (GAO's) present era of oversight can best be understood by reviewing the audit types that populate village life in the GAO and the repertoire the office uses in conducting program evaluation audits. (Author/LMO)

Discusses the federal government's progress toward the formation of a national energy policy and briefly describes the energy activities of government agencies, especially the Department of Energy. (SK)

Emphasizes that, because policymaking is becoming more complex, today's vocational education leaders need to be aware of the process and importance of the social, political, economic, and technological forces that affect the future of the programs they administer. (Author/NEC)

This paper describes fraud and health risks to consumers from the unregulated weight control industry, reviews safe weight loss guidelines, notes the role of health educators, and argues for increased regulatory control measures. (SM)

Policy analysis issues in a recent study of quality control in the basic grant delivery system are reviewed, and the validity of the findings as reported is discussed. The study's design and implementation, derivation and presentation of findings, and relevance of the findings to the study's policy recommendations are examined. (MSE)

Reviews the highlights of the Federal legislation relating to Adult Basic Education (ABE) in terms of the specific laws from 1964 to 1975, with a brief commentary on the social context of the legislation and makes recommendations for future ABE Federal legislation. (WL)