Texas education policy in the 1990s provided the blueprint for Bush-era school reforms. In 1993, the Texas legislature introduced high-stakes testing, followed by the authorization of Texas’ first charter schools—schools that are publicly funded but privately ... More »
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education has been a national imperative for decades. More recent administrations have prioritized STEM in schools due to the rising importance of mathematical skills in the labor market. The American Competitiv... More »
Poor people, especially in developing countries, have inadequate financial resources and face liquidity issues which constrain expenditures on their children’s health and education. Cash transfers ease these constraints by providing households with financial s... More »
Conditional cash transfers (CCTs) are social programs that provide stipends to low-income families and individuals who meet certain conditions, such as ensuring their children receive mandatory vaccinations or meet school attendance requirements. CCTs have had... More »
Teacher shortages are a harsh reality in states across the nation. From California to South Carolina, recruiting and retaining teachers is an imminent concern for school districts, parents, and students. These problems are often more pronounced in high poverty... More »
In 2015, reports of elevated lead levels in the city’s water supply put Flint, Michigan into the national spotlight. The state-appointed emergency manager’s 2014 decision to approve municipal use of water from the Flint River, in an attempt to help the cash st... More »
Since its inception, online education has faced heavy skepticism, if not downright opposition. A recent study by David Deming, Michael Lovenheim, and Richard Patterson finds that students benefit from the education quality improvements that traditional brick-a... More »
UNESCO estimates that there are still 263 million children ages six to 17 years old who do not attend school. Of these children, 23 percent reside in India. One of the contributing factors to low enrollment in India is a lack of sanitation in school. Without s... More »
Students across the United States wake up each morning afraid to attend school because of the daily difficulties they encounter as people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT). While acceptance of these groups has grown over recent decad... More »
Since the turn of the century, primary school attendance has increased worldwide. UNICEF reports that the number of children who are primary-school age not attending school declined globally by 40 percent between 2000 and 2013. Despite impressive progress, man... More »
Women represent half of the global population, but they often do not have the same access to health, education, earning power, and political representation, as men. According to McKinsey, global GDP could increase by $12 trillion by 2025 simply by advancing w... More »
In February 2006, Congress repealed the “50 percent rule.” Originally enacted in 1992, this rule prevented undergraduate institutions from receiving federal financial aid — including funding through Title IV or the Higher Education Act (HEA) — if more than 50 ... More »