The world of student loans and debt forgiveness for teachers is a patchwork of overlapping programs, contradictory regulations, and expensive subsidies that date back to Dwight D. Eisenhower's signing of the National Defense Education Act of 1958. The 60-year experiment in using federal loan dollars to encourage students to become teachers could…

For middle schools to fully achieve their goals, it is important for them to be staffed with teachers who understand the unique developmental needs of young adolescents and are specifically prepared to meet those needs. Middle school leaders have long been advocates of specialized teacher preparation and licensure; however, the current terrain of…

Funded grant projects all involve some form of evaluation, and Advanced Technological Education (ATE) grants are no exception. Program evaluation serves as a critical component not only for evaluating if a project has met its intended and desired outcomes, but the evaluation process is also a central feature of the grant application itself.…

Community colleges, which are public, two-year institutions of higher education, have become a major provider of education and training that directly leads to a job in a particular occupation. To help community colleges build capacity to provide job training, the federal government has funded several grant programs over the past 15 years. Recent…

The federal role in higher education has grown over the past two decades, and now a new administration has the opportunity to strengthen policies that support students and their colleges and universities. To help inform these decisions, the Urban Institute convened a bipartisan group of scholars and policy advisers to write a series of memos…

This resource was prepared in response to a request from a Race to the Top -- Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) State for a high-level summary of the March 2016 research brief, "Coordinated Monitoring Systems for Early Care and Education" (see ED583970), prepared by Child Trends for the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation…

The United States democratic system includes characteristics of capitalism as well as socialism. Perhaps the most socialistic endeavor of the US is its K-12 public school system; in fact, US public schools are necessary for democracy to thrive and to create an educated and well-informed populace. However, capitalism and socialism are strange…

Career Technical Education (CTE) can provide an on-ramp for rural learners to access meaningful, high-wage careers while simultaneously strengthening the talent pipeline to meet regional labor demand. Yet rural learners all too often face an uphill battle when it comes to accessing high-quality CTE. Scarce resources, limited regional employers and…

Quality teacher-child interactions are characteristic of effective classrooms resulting in benefits for all children, but may be particularly important for children from low-income families. The purpose of this study was to explore the perception of Illinois Head Start teachers related to how "I am Moving, I am Learning" (IMIL) could…

The purpose of this study was to examine 41 secondary transition-focused personnel preparation projects funded between 2001 and 2016. Specifically, this study examined the amount and characteristics of these projects through a systematic abstract review. In addition, authors explored key issues in federally funded transition-focused personnel…

Tiered evidence initiatives are an important federal strategy to incentivize and accelerate the use of rigorous evidence in planning, implementing, and assessing social service investments. The Social Innovation Fund (SIF), a program of the Corporation for National and Community Service, adopted a public-private partnership approach to tiered…

This paper examines the effect of a tuition-free high school program launched in FY2010 in Japan on the high school enrollment rate and household spending. We have some interesting findings. First, the program contributed to improvement in the high school enrollment rate for poorer households. Second, the program stimulated household spending…

GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) is a federal program designed to promote college access and success for students from low-income backgrounds. Although some literature has examined K-12 outcomes, little research has explored the extent to which GEAR UP achieves its intended postsecondary objectives. The…

This project sought to identify Medicaid members with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in five states (Delaware, Iowa, Massachusetts, New York, and South Carolina) to develop a cohort for subsequent analyses of medical conditions and service utilization. We estimated that over 300,000 Medicaid members in these states had IDD. All…

This research critically analyzes the introduction of the Express Entry system in Canada, requiring foreign nationals to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) and wait for an invitation before being allowed to apply for permanent residence. Drawing on available empirical data, I argue that this reform jeopardized international students' chance to…