According to Church statistics, 6.9 million children were enrolled in Catholic primary and secondary schools in Europe. Enrolment has remained relatively stable over the last 40 years in comparison to other regions of the world, contributing to education pluralism. This may be in part because in many countries, Catholic and private schools benefit…

As the role that publicly owned and private think tanks play in evidence-based governance grows, several parameters that have a bearing on the agenda, schedule and timetable of the think tanks have already been studied. Here we look at the interplay between the funding model (public vs. private) and the analysis intention (the temporal outlook;…

This article estimates earnings impacts for those who completed long-term college credentials (degrees or college certificates requiring a year or more of study) and those who did not in an experimental evaluation of a federally-funded sectoral job training program. The experimental evaluation found no overall impact of the program on earnings,…

School finance debates frequently turn on two crucial questions: (1) How much do state and local governments spend on K-12 education?; and (2) How are education dollars distributed across jurisdictions? This focus makes sense because the answers to these questions determine how well states are able to provide an adequate, equal education for all…

Immigrant students are served in adult basic education programs across the country. This includes internationally trained professionals who often face nonrecognition of their foreign credentials and experience, leading to underemployment and a devaluation of skills. This article explores this issue from the perspective of a local program at…

Growing concerns over student debt have led to a series of sweeping policy proposals from higher education associations, think tanks, and policymakers over the last decade to align state and federal higher education financing policy. The existing framework, in which states primarily subsidize institutions and the federal government primarily…

The evolution of school finance has become increasingly more complex, and accountability and transparency of spending decisions toward academic outcomes have increased, leading to more demands on the superintendent (Bjork & Kowalski, 2005; Kowalski, 2013; Ramirez, 2013). This has led to evolution of the role of the superintendent position in…

Open educational resources (OERs) are an alternative textbook to publisher materials used by colleges and universities. While OERs likely reduce the cost of college for students, research is mixed on the impact of these textbooks on student success in college. The present study utilizes preference score matching (PSM) methodology to compare OER…

As widely reported and documented, the coronavirus pandemic hit schools hard. To address challenges caused by COVID-19, the U.S. Congress created and funded the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER). While educators and the field have learned much during the era of reforming high poverty schools, the challenge to improve…

College enrollment has increased over the years but so has the cost. The total cost of attending college -- including tuition, room and board, necessary books and supplies, and more -- would be prohibitive for most students if not for financial aid. Yet, many students still cite financial barriers as the top reason for opting out of college.…

Federal student aid formulas prioritize income over wealth. Using nationally representative data from two cohorts, we argue that federal student aid policy thus under-addresses wealth-driven financial need and that this oversight contributes to racial disparities in student debt, in turn reinforcing the United States's longstanding racial wealth…

Congress has provided authority to the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) to fund off-duty voluntary education for Active and Reserve Component servicemembers. Congress and DOD have conceived of tuition assistance (TA) as a quality-of-life benefit, force-shaping tool, and a mechanism for developing human capital in the Armed Forces. The TA program,…

This document provides narrative and data on the U.S. Department of Education's progress toward the strategic goals and objectives outlined in its "Fiscal Years 2022-2026 Strategic Plan." In fiscal year (FY) 2024, the Department assessed progress on 70 performance indicators. Of these indicators, 42 met their annual targets; 15 did not…

The purpose of this study is to estimate the impact of Race to the Top (RTTT) on test scores, both overall and in terms of narrowing demographic achievement gaps--a central focus in the original RTTT applications. We draw on student-level NAEP data in reading and mathematics for fourth and eighth graders from 1996 to 2019. An event-study…

The Commonwealth-funded school English as a Second language (ESL) program used to be seen by the ESL profession as an essential educational access and equity provision responding to Australia's migrant and humanitarian intakes and its growing linguistically diverse population. In the decades before and after the turn of the century, however,…