To address the economic crisis facing the country, the President signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) into law on February 17, 2009. This sweeping legislation provides $789 billion to jumpstart the economy and boost employment. This act includes $463 billion in new spending and $326 billion in tax relief directed at those…

Accountability in the nation's public schools has become a matter of considerable urgency since the 2001 amendment of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965. Under this most recent version of the ESEA, as of the 2007-08 academic year states and districts must assess the mathematics and reading proficiency of students…

In spring 2009, the Center on Education Policy (CEP) continued its research on the impact of test-based federal and state accountability policies by conducting case studies of six high schools in six different districts within Washington State. The purpose was to learn more about the curricular and instructional changes that administrators and…

The purpose of this large-scale, national study is to determine whether some early elementary school math curricula are more effective than others at improving student math achievement, thereby providing educators with information that may be useful for making adequate yearly progress (AYP). This report presents results from the first cohort of…

The purpose of this paper is to examine the status of employment of people with disabilities in the Federal Government and to make recommendations for improving federal hiring and advancement of employees with disabilities. The paper summarizes the legal authorities and policy guidance, the responsibilities of various federal agencies charged with…

This Statistics in Brief contributes to current research by investigating the use of tutoring services among a nationally representative group of public school students enrolled in grades K-12. The report compares students in schools that have not made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for 3 or more years, and were thereby enrolled in schools that…

State child care policies--including licensing, subsidy, and quality enhancement strategies--can promote the quality and continuity of early childhood experiences and foster the healthy growth and development of babies and toddlers in child care settings, especially if they are informed by research. One of the policy levers states may use to…

The purpose of this article is to illustrate how a valid and reliable state accountability system could be developed that identifies effective schools and school districts in a comprehensive, understandable, and practical way. The author presents an overview of the strategy used in the analysis, discusses the use of education production functions…

More than seven years ago, President George W. Bush signed No Child Left Behind (NCLB) into law. Sweeping calls for testing, intervening in persistently low-performing schools, and policing teacher quality made it the most ambitious legislation on K-12 schooling in American history. The law, due for congressional reauthorization in 2007, still…

Background/Context: Among the children of immigrants, one of the populations placed at greatest risk of not finishing high school are the children of migrant farmworkers. Although it is difficult to track graduation rates for migrant students because of their mobility, the U.S. Department of Education estimates that only half of all migrant…

The purpose of this large-scale, national study is to determine whether some early elementary school math curricula are more effective than others at improving student math achievement, thereby providing educators with information that may be useful for making adequate yearly progress (AYP). This report presents results from the first cohort of…

The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act is the main federal program concerning the education of children and youth experiencing homelessness. It provides federal funding to states, which then distribute the funds to their school districts through a competitive application process; the funds are used to ensure that children and youth…

Since 1965 the federal government has attempted to provide low socioeconomic status students with equal access to postsecondary education through the Higher Education Act and its multiplicative programmatic efforts. Implemented as one such program in 1998, the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs, or GEAR UP, has been…

If the nation is to truly meet the goal of every child a graduate, everybody must hold schools responsible for graduating every student with a regular diploma, particularly poor and minority students. Unfortunately, current education accountability systems virtually ignore high school graduation rates. This brief summarizes such shortcomings in…

In this exciting, unique and challenging time, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute wants to congratulate President-Elect Obama and other new federal leaders. The federal government has a key role to play in creating a world-class education system in America but it's challenging to get that role right. This letter provides some guidance. Fordham…