Heather L. Schwartz

Five Charts That Tell Us About the State of Public Education Right Now

To monitor education trends, RAND fields more than a dozen surveys per year to teachers, principals, and superintendents. Five charts highlight findings across different areas—staff turnover, teacher well-being, guns in schools, quality of instruction, and politics in schools—that say a lot about the state of American public education.

Educators' Poor Morale Matters, Even If They Don't Quit. Here's Why

State and district education leaders can take steps now to reduce teacher and principal stress this fall in two ways: Recognize that job-related stress is systemic and that educators closer to the classroom may experience more of it, and talk with teachers and principals about the sources of stress in their job, and what could alleviate them.

Summer Learning Is More Popular Than Ever. How to Make Sure Your District's Program Is Effective

In the best of times, it is no small feat to put together a quality summer learning program. Given that districts are focusing not only on academic recovery from COVID learning loss, but on retaining teachers, supporting students' and teachers' mental health, and addressing increases in misbehavior, they need immediate, digestible guidance for summer programming.

What Is Really Polarizing Schools Right Now?

Political polarization that rises to the level of interfering with schooling isn't simply a headache; it's a fundamental problem for public education. When there is deep disagreement over the essentials—what schools teach, how they keep children safe—schools are at risk of becoming ungovernable.

Finding Teachers and Bus Drivers Is a Big Problem, but a Different Staffing Challenge Is Looming in School Districts

The majority of school districts report they don't have enough staff to hire, particularly substitutes, bus drivers, and special education teachers. A recent survey also revealed a major challenge for the superintendency. Only half of superintendents said they were likely to stay in their jobs for the long term.

The Remote Learning Paradox: Some Educators, Parents Want to Keep Online Classes Option Even Though Instruction Suffered

Despite remote learning not going particularly well during the pandemic, about one-third of U.S. schools are keeping it as an option. Is remote learning a pandemic blip or a permanent feature of public education moving ahead?

Commit Now to Get Summer Programming Right

When summer programs are targeted to needs, intentionally designed, and well attended, they produce positive outcomes in math and reading. But these programs need federal support, and they require early planning.

Lost Learning and the Costs of COVID-19

President Biden's plan calls for $130 billion to help schools safely reopen and identifies summer school or other supports to help students compensate for lost learning time as permissible uses of this funding. Recent RAND research can shed light on how Congress might consider divvying up these funds to support students over the next year.

School District Leaders Indicate Online Instruction Will Outlast COVID-19. Here's What to Consider

Remote K–12 learning at scale is an unprecedented challenge for everyone involved. It can and would improve dramatically if educators, government, and philanthropy treated it as a work in progress, featuring evidence-based development of quality online curricula, continuous improvement, and engagement of teachers.

Coronavirus Will Require Changes in Schools When They Reopen to Protect Students

Schools will likely need to modify their practices so that their teachers, staff, and students maintain social distancing standards whenever they reopen. If a federal agency would create guidance, then educators could focus on teaching students.

Schools Pivot Online in Wake of COVID-19: Q&A with RAND Experts

Nearly all school-age children in the United States are no longer in the classroom as districts shut down to reduce the spread of the new coronavirus. RAND education researchers discuss how this situation might exacerbate educational inequities, how districts and teachers are innovating and what they need, and what parents can do.

How Can the U.S. Do a Better Job of Keeping Kids Safe at School?

Many proposals to improve school safety promote the use of technology, such as metal detectors and video cameras. How effective are these devices? The evidence is mixed.

Why Rents Have Gone Through the Roof in New Orleans and Across the Nation

The rental affordability crisis was caused by declining incomes since 2000, the slowing of new construction, households getting smaller, and the seven million foreclosures during the recession. It is a national problem in need of a national solution.

Narrowing the Income Achievement Gap

The achievement gap between children from the highest- and lowest-income families has substantially grown since 1960. The income achievement gap is now about twice the size of the black-white achievement gap.

Narrowing the Economic Achievement Gap: The Role of Housing

The results from Montgomery County demonstrate that an integrative housing policy can be an effective form of school policy for disadvantaged children, writes Heather Schwartz.

Report

How Are District Leaders Thinking About Mathematics? Selected Findings from the American School District Panel

To determine how school districts were approaching mathematics during and after the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, researchers surveyed and interviewed leaders in the American School District Panel several times between fall 2021 and spring 2023.

Visualization

American School District Panel Interactive Survey Results Tool: Spring 2023 Survey Results

This tool allows users to compare school district leaders' responses to spring 2023 American School District Panel survey. Charts display results for all respondents and by locale, student race and ethnicity, and district poverty level.

Report

Politics Is the Top Reason Superintendents Are Stressed: Selected Findings from the Spring 2023 American School District Panel Survey

How stressed are school superintendents? What are the reasons for their stress? To find out, authors surveyed 150 superintendents in American School District Panel member districts.

Report

Technical Documentation for the Seventh American School District Panel Survey

This report provides technical information about the spring 2023 survey of the American School District Panel. The authors describe the survey administration and weighting processes they used to produce nationally representative estimates.

Report

Teachers' Views on School Safety: Consensus on Many Security Measures, But Stark Division About Arming Teachers

RAND researchers used survey responses from the American Teacher Panel to learn what teachers think about school safety, including what they think about policies that would allow teachers to carry firearms in schools.

Report

Skills for Success: Developing Social and Emotional Competencies in Out-of-School-Time Programs

This report offers guidance for out-of-school-time programs that wish to incorporate social and emotional learning activities into their programming. The lessons are derived from the RAND Corporation's study of more than 100 afterschool programs.

Visualization

American School District Panel Interactive Survey Results Tool: Fall 2022 Survey Results

This tool allows users to compare superintendents' responses to the fall 2022 American School District Panel survey. Charts display results for all respondents and by locale, student race and ethnicity, and district poverty level.

Report

Educator Turnover Has Markedly Increased, but Districts Have Taken Actions to Boost Teacher Ranks: Selected Findings from the Sixth American School District Panel Survey

Researchers analyzed district leader survey results to see whether educator turnover increased nationally at the end of the 2021–2022 school year and to learn whether districts continued to experience staff shortages during the 2022–2023 school year.

Report

Evaluation of Delaware's Opportunity Funding and Student Success Block Grant Programs: Third and Final Year

The authors evaluated two Delaware programs for local education agencies with students experiencing poverty and multilingual learners during the 2019–2020 to 2021–2022 school years: Opportunity Funding and the Student Success Block Grant program.

Report

Flexible Opportunity Funding Investments in Delaware: Lessons from District Leaders

The authors drew on surveys of Delaware local education agencies that received Opportunity Funding and describe the investments they made to improve the academic achievement of multilingual learners and students experiencing poverty.

Journal Article

Navigating Political Tensions Over Schooling: Findings from the Fall 2022 American School District Panel Survey

Using survey data and interviews with superintendents, researchers investigate the extent to which polarization about issues such as race, sexuality, gender, and Covid-19 was interfering with schooling as of fall 2022.

Report

Andover's Teaching and Departmental Reviews: Findings and Recommendations

This report offers recommendations for how Phillips Academy Andover, an independent boarding school in Massachusetts, can update its processes for departmental review and teacher review to develop a more coherent instructional system.

Report

Prioritizing Strategies to Racially Diversify the K–12 Teacher Workforce: Findings from the State of the American Teacher and State of the American Principal Surveys

The authors of this report surveyed and interviewed teachers and convened a panel of education policymakers to identify policies and strategies that could help racially diversify the teacher workforce in the United States.

Report

Building an Effective Social and Emotional Learning Committee in Dallas: One of Six Case Studies of Schools and Out-of-School-Time Program Partners (Volume 2, Part 3)

This case study explores how Dallas's Webster Elementary School and its out-of-school-time program, Thriving Minds After School, formed a social and emotional learning committee that became more effective over time, focusing on daily activities.

Report

Engaging Teachers, Staff, and Parents in Social and Emotional Learning in Palm Beach County: One of Six Case Studies of Schools and Out-of-School-Time Program Partners (Volume 2, Part 5)

This case study explores how Palm Beach County's Diamond View Elementary School and its out-of-school-time program increased adult awareness of social and emotional learning practices to promote positive interactions with children throughout the day.

Report

Expanding Social and Emotional Learning Beyond the School Walls in Boston: One of Six Case Studies of Schools and Out-of-School-Time Program Partners (Volume 2, Part 2)

This case study explores how the Russell Elementary School and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Dorchester partnered in Boston to provide social and emotional learning enrichment off campus as part of the school day.

Report

Jointly Prioritizing Time for Social and Emotional Learning In Denver: One of Six Case Studies of Schools and Out-of-School-Time Program Partners (Volume 2, Part 4)

This case study explores how Denver's Cowell Elementary School and its out-of-school-time partner, Discovery Link, worked together to find time for social and emotional learning (SEL) and to provide consistent SEL instruction during and after school.

Report

Learning to Focus on Adult Social and Emotional Learning First in Tulsa: One of Six Case Studies of Schools and Out-of-School-Time Program Partners (Volume 2, Part 7)

This case study explores how Whitman Elementary in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and its out-of-school-time program partner, Youth at Heart, learned to first invest in adults so that they are equipped to support students' social and emotional learning.

Report

Prioritizing Racial Equity Within Social and Emotional Learning in Tacoma: One of Six Case Studies of Schools and Out-of-School-Time Program Partners (Volume 2, Part 6)

This case study explores how Lister Elementary School in Tacoma, Washington, established social and emotional learning and equity as a nonnegotiable foundation for its work with students, staff, and families.

Report

Strengthening Students' Social and Emotional Skills: Lessons from Six Case Studies of Schools and Out-of-School-Time Program Partners (Volume 2, Part 1)

How do elementary schools and out-of-school-time programs partner to deliver social and emotional learning to children? This cross-cutting report summarizes six case studies and highlights shared themes.

Report

Walking a Fine Line—Educators' Views on Politicized Topics in Schooling: Findings from the State of the American Teacher and State of the American Principal Surveys

Using nationally representative survey data, the authors analyze educators' views on two politicized issues—COVID-19 mitigation policies and teaching about race, racism, or bias—to better understand the consequences of politicization in schools.

Report

RAND American School District Panel: Creation and Technical Description

This report describes the American School District Panel (ASDP) sample design, methods used to recruit districts, recruitment results, and methods used to weight ASDP data to the national population of public school districts in the United States.

Report

Districts Continue to Struggle with Staffing, Political Polarization, and Unfinished Instruction: Selected Findings from the Fifth American School District Panel Survey

To obtain a national picture of districts' challenges at the end of the third school year during the COVID-19 pandemic, the authors assess nationally representative survey responses from 291 district leaders who completed the American School District Panel in spring 2022.

Visualization

American School District Panel Interactive Survey Results Tool: Spring 2022 COVID-19 Survey Results

This tool allows users to compare superintendents' responses to the final section of the spring 2022 survey. Charts display results for all respondents and by district type, locale, student race and ethnicity, and district poverty level.

Report

State of the Superintendent — High Job Satisfaction and a Projected Normal Turnover Rate: Selected Findings from the Fifth American School District Panel Survey

To obtain a national picture of U.S. superintendents' job satisfaction and intentions to remain in their position, researchers surveyed a nationally representative sample of 222 superintendents in the American School District Panel in spring 2022.

Report

Social and Emotional Learning In Schools Nationally and in the Collaborating Districts Initiative: Selected Findings from the American Teacher Panel and American School Leader Panel Surveys

This report presents survey results examining whether school districts' participation in the Collaborating Districts Initiative has resulted in more frequent implementation of social and emotional learning practices than in comparable districts.

Report

Restoring Teacher and Principal Well-Being Is an Essential Step for Rebuilding Schools: Findings from the State of the American Teacher and State of the American Principal Surveys

Researchers present selected findings on teacher and principal well-being, working conditions, and intentions to leave their jobs from the 2022 State of the American Teacher and State of the American Principal surveys.

Report

State of the American Teacher and State of the American Principal Surveys: 2022 Technical Documentation and Survey Results

This technical report on the 2022 State of the American Teacher and State of the American Principal surveys includes descriptions of the survey content, administration, and weighting and detailed data tables of the survey results.

Report

Flux in the Educator Labor Market: Acute Staff Shortages and Projected Superintendent Departures: Selected Findings from the Fourth American School District Panel Survey

To obtain a national picture of the staffing challenges that districts are facing in the 2021-2022 school year, RAND researchers surveyed 359 district and charter network leaders in the American School District Panel from October to December 2021.

Visualization

American School District Panel Interactive Survey Results Tool: Fall 2021 COVID-19 Survey Results

This tool allows users to compare district leaders' responses to each question in the fall 2021 survey. Charts display results for all respondents and by district type, locale, student race/ethnicity, and district poverty level.

Report

District Leaders' Concerns About Mental Health and Political Polarization in Schools: Selected Findings from the Fourth American School District Panel Survey

RAND researchers surveyed 359 district and charter network leaders in the American School District Panel to learn about the extent of challenges to schooling in 2021-2022, including student and teacher mental health and political polarization.

Report

Evaluation of Delaware's Opportunity Funding and Student Success Block Grant Programs: Second Year

This is the second of three annual reports evaluating the implementation and effects of two Delaware funding programs for disadvantaged K–12 schools in the 2019–2020 to 2021–2022 school years: Opportunity Funding and the Student Success Block Grant.

Report

The Rise of Virtual Schools: Selected Findings from the Third American School District Panel Survey

Results from the June 2021 American School District Panel survey suggest that K–12 remote instruction will outlast the pandemic. This report highlights districts' plans for temporary and more-lasting remote instruction options starting in fall 2021.

Report

School Districts Have Expanded Their Nonacademic Services for 2021–2022, While Academic Offerings Remain Much the Same: Selected Findings from the Third American School District Panel Survey

Results from the June 2021 American School District Panel survey suggest that while public schools are expanding their nonacademic offerings due to the pandemic, most academic programs for the 2021–2022 school year will remain the same.

Report

Will Students Come Back? A July 2021 Parent Survey About School Hesitancy and Parental Preferences for COVID-19 Safety Practices in Schools

This report provides the survey questions and weighted responses from a July 2021 survey of parents concerning school hesitancy and preferences for COVID-19 safety practices in schools in the United States.

Report

The K–12 Pandemic Budget and Staffing Crises Have Not Panned Out—Yet: Selected Findings from the Third American School District Panel Survey

This report presents district leaders' accounts of staff turnover and fiscal health at the end of the 2020–2021 school year. The authors highlight district leaders' concerns about facing a fiscal cliff after federal aid expires.

Visualization

Summer 2021 COVID-19 Survey Results: American School District Panel Interactive Survey Results Tool

This tool allows users to compare district leaders' responses to each question in the June 2021 survey. Bar charts display results for all respondents and by district type, locale, student racial and ethnicity composition, and district poverty level.

Report

Will Students Come Back? School Hesitancy Among Parents and Their Preferences for COVID-19 Safety Practices in Schools

RAND researchers surveyed more than 2,000 parents of children ages 5-18 in May 2021 about their willingness to send their children to school in person in fall 2021 and whether they would vaccinate their children against coronavirus disease 2019.

Visualization

American School District Panel Winter 2021 COVID-19 Survey

A total of 434 district leaders from school districts and charter management organizations (CMOs) took the second survey of the American School District Panel between January 21 and March 5, 2021. This tool presents weighted survey results that are nationally representative of school districts in the United States.

Report

Urban and Rural Districts Showed a Strong Divide During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Results from the Second American School District Panel Survey

This report includes results from the second survey of district leaders by the RAND Corporation's American School District Panel. The survey covered 2020-2021 school year instruction, COVID-19 testing and vaccines, enrollments, budget, and staffing.

Report

Getting to Work on Summer Learning: Recommended Practices for Success, 2nd Ed. — Executive Summary

The authors distill lessons about implementing and improving summer learning programs gleaned from a six-year study in the five urban districts participating in the National Summer Learning Project.

Journal Article

Improvements in Neighborhood Socioeconomic Conditions May Improve Resident Diet

Investing in neighborhoods may support resident diet through improvements in neighborhood commercial environments for renters, but mechanisms appear to differ for homeowners.

Report

COVID-19 Testing in K–12 Schools: Insights from Early Adopters

This report describes approaches that early adopters of COVID-19 testing in U.S. K–12 schools were using as of December 2020, highlighting key facilitators that made testing feasible, acceptable, and effective.

Report

Stress Topped the Reasons Why Public School Teachers Quit, Even Before COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has added more stress to an already high-stress profession: American public school teacher. The authors of this report reveal how important stress has been—even more so than pay—to teachers' decisions to leave the profession.

Report

Evaluation of Delaware's Opportunity Funding and Student Success Block Grant Programs: Early Implementation

The authors examine the 2019-2020 implementation of two newly expanded Delaware weighted education funding programs, the Opportunity Fund and Student Success Block Grant, and emerging best practices, as reported by local education agency leaders.

Journal Article

Developing School Leaders: Findings From a Randomized Control Trial Study of the Executive Development Program and Paired Coaching

This article presents the results of two randomized control trials evaluating the impacts of the National Center on Education and the Economy's Executive Development Program and coaching on schoolwide practices and performance.

Report

Remote Learning Is Here to Stay: Results from the First American School District Panel Survey

The RAND Corporation fielded a survey to the new American School District Panel to develop a national picture of school districts' needs during the COVID-19 pandemic and innovations that they plan to keep after the pandemic.

Report

COVID-19 and the State of K-12 Schools: Results and Technical Documentation from the Fall 2020 American Educator Panels COVID-19 Surveys

This report provides information about the sample, survey instrument, and data for the coronavirus disease 2019 surveys that were administered to principals and teachers in fall 2020 via the RAND Corporation's American Educator Panels.

Report

Early Lessons from Schools and Out-of-School Time Programs Implementing Social and Emotional Learning

In this report, RAND researchers describe the Partnerships for Social and Emotional Learning Initiative, as well as findings and early lessons from the first two years of implementation in the six participating communities.

Report

Early Lessons from Schools and Out-of-School Time Programs Implementing Social and Emotional Learning: Executive Summary

In this summary, RAND researchers describe the Partnerships for Social and Emotional Learning Initiative, as well as findings and early lessons from the first two years of implementation in the six participating communities.

Report

Prepared for a Pandemic? How Schools' Preparedness Related to Their Remote Instruction During COVID-19

Using responses to the American Educator Panels, RAND researchers investigate how schools' pre-pandemic planning translated into remote learning practices and principals' confidence in student achievement during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Report

Effects of the Executive Development Program and Aligned Coaching for School Principals in Three U.S. States: Investing in Innovation Study Final Report

In this report, part of a series on professional development for school principals, the authors analyze the effects of a professional development program and paired coaching for middle school principals in three states.

Report

COVID-19 and the State of K–12 Schools: Results and Technical Documentation from the Spring 2020 American Educator Panels COVID-19 Surveys

This technical report provides information about the sample, survey instrument, and resultant data for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) surveys administered to principals and teachers via RAND's American Educator Panels in spring 2020.

Journal Article

Feasibility of Social Distancing Practices in US Schools to Reduce Influenza Transmission During a Pandemic

We assessed the feasibility of implementing other social distancing practices in K-12 schools as a first step in seeking an alternative to preemptive school closures.

Journal Article

Broken Windows, Broken Zzs: Poor Housing and Neighborhood Conditions Are Associated with Objective Measures of Sleep Health

Sleep is a critical contributor to health and well-being. Sleep disturbances may contribute to racial and socioeconomic disparities in health. Understanding socio-environmental determinants of sleep health disparities is a public health imperative.

Draft

Opportunities and Challenges in Using Online Learning to Maintain Continuity of Instruction in K–12 Schools in Emergencies

Explores the use of online instruction in K-12 schools during prolonged school closures and preparedness when it occurs with little warning.

Journal Article

Does Large-Scale Neighborhood Reinvestment Work? Effects of Public–Private Real Estate Investment on Local Sales Prices, Rental Prices, and Crime Rates

We examine whether the substantial, combined public–private investments in Hill District, Pittsburgh, (a) increased that neighborhood's residential and commercial sales prices, (b) increased residential rental prices, and (c) reduced crime.

Report

Putting Professional Learning to Work: What Principals Do with Their Executive Development Program Learning

This report presents findings from part of RAND's evaluation of the National Institute for School Leadership's Executive Development Program (EDP) for sitting school principals, focusing on how principals applied their EDP learning and coaching.

Journal Article

Get Smart About Social and Emotional Learning Measurement

This paper provides guidance to educators and policymakers who are interested in measuring social and emotional learning practices and competencies. It is part of a series of papers on SEL published by the American Enterprise Institute.

Journal Article

School and Preparedness Officials' Perspectives on Social Distancing Practices to Reduce Influenza Transmission During a Pandemic: Considerations to Guide Future Work

The objective of this qualitative study was to explore the perspectives of school and preparedness officials on the feasibility of implementing a range of social distancing practices to reduce influenza transmission during a pandemic.

Report

Energy Efficiency as a Tool for Preservation of Affordable Rental Housing: Evaluation of the Efficiency Emphasis in the MacArthur Foundation's Window of Opportunity Initiative

From 2012 to 2015 the MacArthur Foundation awarded 39 grants and loans totaling $27.5 million to promote the energy efficiency of multifamily affordable rental housing. The initiative had a positive influence on most of its targeted outcomes.

Report

Getting to Work on Summer Learning: Recommended Practices for Success, 2nd Ed.

The RAND Corporation's six-year study of the National Summer Learning Project culminates in this final report about district implementation of summer learning programs and presents the best available guidance about how to establish and sustain them.

Journal Article

School Practices to Promote Social Distancing in K-12 Schools: Review of Influenza Pandemic Policies and Practices

Little information is available to schools to develop policies and procedures on social distancing during a flu pandemic. Additional research is needed to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of these policies and procedures.

Commentary

Quality Rating and Improvement Systems for Early Care and Education Programs: Making the Second Generation Better

This perspective explores ways in which states can be more strategic about the allocation of funds for and within quality rating and improvement systems to achieve their goals of expanding access to and improving the quality of ECE programs.

Journal Article

Encouraging Residential Moves to Opportunity Neighborhoods: An Experiment Testing Incentives Offered to Housing Voucher Recipients

Given the potential benefits of upwardly mobile residential moves, housing practitioners should continue testing policies to facilitate voucher-based opportunity moves.

Report

Evaluation of Delaware Stars for Early Success: Final Report

In 2013, the Delaware Office of Early Learning contracted with the RAND Corporation to evaluate Delaware Stars for Early Success, the state's quality rating and improvement system for early learning and care programs. This report shares all findings.

Research Brief

Kids Who Attend More Benefit More: Voluntary Summer Learning Programs

This brief summarizes the outcomes of two summers of voluntary academic programming (2013 and 2014) on 3,192 low-income urban students accepted into the programs who had completed third grade before the first summer.

Infographic

Learning from Summer: Effects of Voluntary Summer Learning Programs on Low-Income Urban Youth

This infographic summarizes several student outcomes from an assessment of five voluntary, district-led summer learning programs offered at no cost to low-income, urban elementary students.

Report

Learning from Summer: Effects of Voluntary Summer Learning Programs on Low-Income Urban Youth

RAND researchers assess voluntary, district-led summer learning programs for low-income, urban elementary students. This third report in a series examines student outcomes after one and two summers of programming.

Research Brief

Can Technology Make Schools Safer?

Key technology needs to improve safety in U.S. schools include two-way communication between teachers and emergency responders and "all-in-one" applications to integrate school safety policies, procedures, training, and alerts for staff and parents.

Report

Preservation of Affordable Rental Housing: Evaluation of the MacArthur Foundation's Window of Opportunity Initiative

Evaluates the MacArthur Foundation's Window of Opportunity, a 20-year philanthropic initiative begun in 2000 that has allocated $187 million to preserve privately owned affordable rental housing.

Research Brief

Preserving the Supply of Affordable Housing: The MacArthur Foundation's Window of Opportunity Initiative

Summarizes the achievements of the MacArthur Foundation's Window of Opportunity -- a 20-year philanthropic initiative begun in 2000 to preserve privately owned affordable rental housing -- and the lessons it offers for other philanthropic initiatives.

Report

The Role of Technology in Improving K–12 School Safety

The report categorizes school safety technologies, summarizes research on school violence, presents six case studies of innovative technologies, and summarizes experts' views of technologies and safety problems and their rankings of technology needs.

Journal Article

Health Implications of Social Networks for Children Living in Public Housing

This study examines the health composition of the social networks of children living in subsidized housing within market rate developments.

Journal Article

Fifty Ways to Leave a Child Behind: Idiosyncrasies and Discrepancies in States' Implementation of NCLB

Using a data set we constructed, this paper is the first national study examining which schools failed during the early years of NCLB and which performance targets they failed to meet.

Journal Article

Intergenerational Social Networks and Health Behaviors Among Children Living in Public Housing

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Report

Evaluation of Delaware Stars for Early Success: Year 2 Report

This second report from a multiyear study of Delaware's quality rating and improvement system for early learning and care programs addresses program participation and quality ratings, as well as financial incentives and technical assistance.

Research Brief

First Outcomes from the National Summer Learning Study

This brief describes the near-term effects of voluntary summer learning programs provided by five urban school districts to large numbers of struggling low-income elementary students in the summer of 2013.

Journal Article

Do the Joneses Help You Keep Up? A Natural Experiment in Exposure to Nonpoor Neighbors

We interviewed 453 public housing residents about their social networks. Adults who lived in scattered public housing vs. clustered reported a lower proportion of low-socioeconomic status social ties and neighbors in their social networks.

Report

Ready for Fall? Near-Term Effects of Voluntary Summer Learning Programs on Low-Income Students' Learning Opportunities and Outcomes

As part of a randomized controlled trial study assessing the effect of district-run voluntary summer programs, this second report in a series looks at how summer programs affected student performance in certain categories in fall 2013.

Report

Evaluation of Delaware Stars for Early Success: Year 1 Report (2014)

As a first step in a larger study of Delaware Stars, a voluntary quality rating and improvement system for early learning and care programs, RAND research reviewed prior literature, examined existing data, and interviewed key stakeholders.

Journal Article

The Impact of Public Housing on Social Networks: A Natural Experiment

Different types of public housing have a modest impact on the health composition of one's social network, suggesting the importance of housing policy for health.

Report

Getting to Work on Summer Learning: Recommended Practices for Success, 1st Ed.

RAND is conducting a longitudinal study that examines the implementation and effectiveness of voluntary summer learning programs. This second report in the series provides research-based advice for school district leaders developing summer programs.

Research Brief

How to Get the Most out of a Summer Learning Program

The Wallace Foundation is funding a project in six urban school districts to combat summer learning loss. RAND evaluated the summer programs in these districts over two summers, drawing lessons for district leaders on how to create strong programs.

Journal Article

Improving Accountability Through Expanded Measures of Performance

Examines the influence of test-based accountability and explores how states and districts might consider creating expanded systems of measures to address the shortcomings of traditional accountability.

Report

Is Inclusionary Zoning Inclusionary? A Guide for Practitioners

Examines whether inclusionary zoning programs in the United States serve lower-income families and provide recipients with access to low-poverty neighborhoods and high-performing schools.

Journal Article

Integrating Schools Is a Matter of Housing Policy

Inclusionary zoning and economic integration in suburban neighborhoods not only reduces concentration of poverty, it directly improves low-income children's academic achievement.

Journal Article

Knowing and Doing: What Teachers Learn from Formative Assessment and How They Use Information

This study analyzed three different middle school mathematics formative assessment programs, examining how features of each program were associated with the information they provided to teachers and the manner in which teachers used the information.

Report

Making Summer Count: How Summer Programs Can Boost Children's Learning

Students typically lose knowledge and skills during the summer, particularly low-income students. Districts and private providers can benefit from the evidence on summer programming to maximize program effectiveness, quality, reach, and funding.

Research Brief

Summer Counts: Making Summer Programs Part of the Learning Equation

Summer learning programs can prevent the summertime loss of knowledge and skills that disproportionately affects low-income students. A study of existing programs resulted in targeted recommendations for school districts, policymakers, and funders.

Research Brief

Expanding Measures of School Performance Under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act

How can the upcoming reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act encourage states to expand their measures of school performance to address goals beyond just mathematics and English Language Arts?

Report

Expanded Measures of School Performance

Critics of No Child Left Behind dislike the narrowing effects of the law's focus on math and reading achievement and have called for efforts to broaden the measures used to rate schools. This report examines expanded measures of school quality.

Research Brief

The Cost of Providing Quality Early Care and Education in Saint Paul, Minnesota

Shares results of a RAND analysis of programs participating in Minnesota's Saint Paul Early Childhood Scholarship Program, which provides scholarships to cover the cost of high-quality early childhood education programs.

Report

Cost Study of the Saint Paul Early Childhood Scholarship Program

Minnesota's Saint Paul Early Childhood Scholarship Program provides scholarships to cover the cost of high-quality early childhood education programs. This report provides detailed cost and program data for 12 participating programs.

Journal Article

Under Pressure: Job Security, Resource Allocation, and Productivity in Schools Under NCLB

The authors assemble the first comprehensive, national, school-level dataset concerning detailed performance measures used to calculate Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP).

Journal Article

The Central Office in a Decentralized System

As the charter school movement has come to scale within the United States, it poses new questions about how to govern public education.

Report

Building a More Resilient Haitian State: French translation of summary

Ce rapport passe en revue les défis auxquels est confrontée la République d'Haïti, ainsi que les projets de réforme envisagés, afin d'identifier les priorités les plus nécessaires, réalisables et durables dans le domaine de la construction étatique.

Research Brief

Building a More Resilient Haitian State: Key Recommendations and Priorities

Haiti's future prosperity and peace require building a more effective, resilient state. RAND researchers identified Haiti's main challenges and recommended a set of state-building priorities that are necessary, feasible, and sustainable.

Report

Building a More Resilient Haitian State

Haiti's future prosperity and peace require building a more effective, resilient state. This report sifts through Haiti's many challenges and reform plans to identify the state-building priorities that are most necessary, feasible, and sustainable.

Journal Article

Housing Policy Is School Policy: Economically Integrative Housing Promotes Academic Success in Montgomery County, MD.

This article reports on the economic factors that influenced academic achievement for elementary school students in public housing in Montgomery County, Maryland. It argues that economic integration in housing and school policy is vital to student success.

Journal Article

Educational Vouchers for Universal Pre-Schools

This article provides a brief set of arguments for government funding of universal, pre-school education. It explores the applicability of a voucher plan using a regulated market approach for the funding of universal, pre-school education.