education policy
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Executive Power Play: Trump and the Return of Impoundment
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Within the deluge of policies coming out of the second Trump administration, impoundment has resurfaced as a battleground between legislative and executive power. Impoundment is a practice in which the President can refuse to spend federal funds appropriated by Congress. Those who support the restoration of this practice see it…
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Teachers Wanted: A Nationwide Staffing Crisis Impacts Illinois
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The teacher shortage is a crisis unfolding at the district, state and federal levels, worsening student learning and threatening the stability of schools– with no end in sight. In Illinois, 5,300 classroom positions went unfilled in 2022, the highest percentage of unfilled positions on record. Reporting midway through the 2023-2024…
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The Role of Teachers In Social Inequality
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As the Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said, “All students deserve access to safe, supportive schools and classrooms.” Today, these privileges remain out of reach for many. Since the 1990s, disciplinary action and exclusionary policies have widened racial gaps in school environments as they have increased in popularity over recent…
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The First Step Towards Opportunity: A Conversation about Bilingual Education with Former Governor Jack Markell
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Jack Markell served as the governor of Delaware from 2009 to 2017, Throughout this period, education reform was an important part of his work. In fact, during Governor Markell’s first term, Delaware was chosen as one of the first two states to receive competitive federal funding from the “Race to…
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Competitive Outcomes: Does Increased School Choice Mean Better Schools in the Long Run?
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As American political rhetoric becomes more and more partisan, debates around public education have become increasingly divisive. From Betsy DeVos’s support for charter schools to nationwide protests by public teachers demanding higher pay, disagreement abounds regarding how best to serve America’s struggling students. In December, New Orleans propelled itself to…
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Beyond Test Scores: How Can We Measure Social-Emotional Learning?
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In recent years, educators and policymakers have expanded the conversation around student success by moving beyond standardized test scores. Social-emotional learning (SEL), in particular, has emerged as an important factor in student outcomes. The use of non-academic terms like “self-management” and “grit” has grown common among policymakers and educators, due…
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What Happens After a School Closes?
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School closure can be a jarring process for students, families and communities. Over the past decade, school closures have become a lightning rod, sparking debate across the country. These closures raise several key questions, including where students go after a low-performing school closes and how students perform academically after their…
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The Economic Impact of Place-Based Scholarships in Public School Districts
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Since the introduction of the Kalamazoo Public School District’s Promise Scholarship Program in 2005, public school districts across the country have announced similar initiatives, offering college scholarships for students who have attended its public schools for a set period of time. Because they are place-based, Promise programs incentivize families with…
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The Data Doesn’t Seem to Be Vouching for Vouchers
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Arguments supporting private management of schools date back to the founding of the United States and have reflected a variety of ideological positions. The call for privatization policies like school vouchers intensified in the mid-20th century due largely to the assertions of economist Milton Friedman. Friedman proposed that the government…
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Analyzing Racial Bias in Selecting Students for Gifted Classes
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Gifted programs in U.S. schools help many students find the sort of academic success that opens the door to opportunities later in life. A recent Vanderbilt University study explores the depths of inequality in the assignment of black students to gifted programs. The authors utilize data from the Early Childhood…
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Improving Education Quality in Chile Through Structured Instruction Methods for Teachers
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Improving the quality of education worldwide continues to be a policy challenge. Recently, UNESCO estimated that 38 percent of children have not mastered the basics of reading and math, although over half of them have been in school for four years. One of the key issues behind this figure is…