Counselors are a common school resource for students navigating complicated and consequential education choices. However, most students have limited access to school counselors. We study one of the largest U.S. policies to increase access to school counselors -- California's Supplemental School Counseling Program. The program increased the average…

During the 2016 session, the General Assembly and Governor established the New Economy Workforce Grant Program (WCG). This grant program, the first of its kind in the nation, provides a pay-for-performance model for funding noncredit workforce training that leads to a credential in a high-demand field. The program also includes requirements for…

A growing body of research provides evidence that quality early childhood experiences can affect a host of life outcomes. Equally well documented is the variation in the quality of prekindergarten (pre-K) programs offered to children. In this study, I use a fuzzy regression discontinuity approach to evaluate the efficacy of transitional…

The Mountain Plains Region (Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming), in partnership with the Southwest Region (Arizona, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas), have combined efforts to produce the first cross-regional Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed)…

Education Commission of the States (ECS) researched Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems (SLDS) policies in all states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico to provide this comprehensive resource. ECS designated four state agencies as core agencies within any SLDS: early learning, K-12, postsecondary, and workforce. As states continue to build…

Education Commission of the States (ECS) researched Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems (LSDS) policies in all states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico to provide this comprehensive resource. ECS identified two main approaches states use to connect their data: centralized systems and federated systems. State data systems that collect,…

Education Commission of the States (ECS) researched Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems (SLDS) policies in all states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico to provide this comprehensive resource. Data dictionaries provide standardized names, codes, definitions and attributes of data elements collected in a data system. In this resource, ECS…

Indiana, Oklahoma, and Washington have programs designed to address college enrollment and completion gaps by offering a promise of state-based college financial aid to low-income middle school students in exchange for making a pledge to do well in high school, be a good citizen, not be convicted of a felony, and apply for financial aid to…

On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021, which included an $800 million reservation within the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) fund to address the specific and urgent needs of children and youth experiencing homelessness, in light of the challenges of the COVID-19…

The Department of Education, Division of Community Colleges and Workforce Preparation, is preparing this report in response to the Skilled Iowa and Job Creation Fund for the state appropriation for Adult Basic Education and Adult Education Literacy (AEL) Programs (260C.50). This report was coordinated by the department with the assistance of…

Free college initiatives, which have been part of the national political conversation for years and which some feared might now lose favor in Washington, DC, actually have quietly been inching forward in a variety of forms throughout the country. Like everything at the intersection of education and public policy, this mechanism for supporting new…

Research has indicated that a gender imbalance exists in the field of music composition. This inequitable distribution is clearly demonstrated in a state-mandated repertoire list in which women represent 3% of the wind band composers and 12% of the choral composers (all voicings). Ensemble directors are in a position to affect a change by…

This toolkit is intended to help states create career pathways systems that integrate and expand partnerships between state human service agencies and postsecondary systems and institutions so that more people who want to train for a quality career can do so. Career pathways partnerships can help community colleges and human services work better…

This annual publication of "The ABCs of School Choice" is a comprehensive, data-rich guide to every private school choice program in America. This edition of "The ABCs of School Choice" defines each of the four types of school choice: education savings accounts, vouchers, tax-credit scholarships and individual tax credits and…

Large-scale performance assessment programs are a longstanding reform tool. However, standard setting can be a challenge for assessment programs that use primarily non-standardized assessments. The purpose of this paper is to extend this field of research by explaining the standard setting methodology applied to one more recent instantiation of a…