Education Policy

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The Four-Day School Week, AI and Social Media Manipulation, School Safety: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on the costs and benefits of a four-day school week, how artificial intelligence is bringing a new era of social media manipulation, the effects of placing police officers in schools, and more.

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A Four-Day School Week? Here Are the Costs and Benefits

Hundreds of small school districts across America have cut one day a week from their calendars. A shorter school week helps them compete for teachers and reduce costs. Teachers and parents love it. But is it really in the best interests of students?

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Early Years Education Reform: Could Life Chances for Children in England Be Significantly Improved?

To ensure equal access to high-quality early years provision in England, it is crucial to learn from successful systems worldwide and implement key recommendations. Prioritizing highly qualified staff, maintaining appropriate staff-to-child ratios, and removing barriers for disadvantaged families are essential steps toward achieving this goal.

Elena Rosa Speciani

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Can Grade Retention Help with COVID-19 Learning Recovery in Schools?

Early grade retention is getting more attention as a potential way to make up for missed learning during the pandemic. But retaining kids without providing the necessary supports or failing to identify the right kids using objective criteria will likely yield ineffective results or even lead to adverse effects.

Umut Ozek @uozek, Louis T. Mariano

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Amplifying Teachers' Voices: Q&A with Ashley Woo

Ashley Woo, an assistant policy researcher at RAND and a Ph.D. candidate at the Pardee RAND Graduate School, aims to bring teachers' perspectives into policymaking. In this interview, she discusses her research on teachers' responses to state restrictions on how they can address topics related to race and gender in the classroom.

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How Teachers Can Shield Students from Harm as Debates Rage over Race and Gender

By conveying to girls and students of color that they are individually capable of overcoming adversity—and that who they are matters—educators might soften the blow of public laws and policies that send the opposite message.

Julia H. Kaufman @juliahkaufman

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Ten Things That Inspired Me in 2022

It would be impossible to capture all the important work that RAND does in a year. But RAND president and CEO Jason Matheny has compiled ten times he was inspired by RAND's efforts to bring insight to some of the biggest policy stories of 2022.

Jason Matheny @JasonGMatheny

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A Four-Day Week: Is America Ready?

As alluring as a calendar filled with three-day weekends may seem, research shows that short school weeks can have educational and health risks for students, but also benefits for them and for school districts that make the change. Do the benefits of the condensed week outweigh the costs?

Wendy M. Troxel @wendytroxel

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U.S. Failure in Afghanistan, Critical Race Theory Bans, Income Inequality: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on how early mistakes led to America's failure in Afghanistan, the potential effects of critical race theory bans, an art installation that breaks down RAND data on income inequality, and more.

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How State Critical Race Theory Bans Could Trickle Down to the Classroom

Given the potential blowback to teaching anything related to race or gender, avoiding lessons on the experiences of women or people of color will be the path of least resistance in many schools. But discussing racism and sexism in a safe environment is crucial for students to become active, knowledgeable citizens.

Julia H. Kaufman @juliahkaufman, Alice Huguet

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Teens Are Sleep Deprived; Later School Start Times Could Help

Sleep deprivation among American teens is a major public health problem. Teens in school districts with later start times get more sleep and are more likely to show up for school. They do better academically, and show improvements in their mental and physical health.

Wendy M. Troxel @wendytroxel

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How the 'Ostrich Europe' Scenario Could Help Guide EU Education Policy

A future scenarios approach can help identify different ways in which the future may plausibly unfold. Seeing how policies implemented now play out in the different scenarios can show us what the possible implications of policy decisions could be. This in turn can contribute to evidence-based policy making.

Axelle Devaux

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Preventing the Winter Blues, North Korea, Opioids: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on how to ward off the winter blues, Kim Jong Un's latest threat, how to spend opioid settlement funds, and more.

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Learning Is a Lifelong Process: Q&A with V. Darleen Opfer

As vice president and director of RAND Education and Labor, V. Darleen Opfer oversees a research portfolio that ranges from early childhood education to retirement planning. In this interview, she discusses what she learned from being a teacher, the need for evidence-based practices, and the importance of lifelong learning in today's labor market.

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Artificial Intelligence, Refugees, Global Health Security: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on the Pentagon's artificial intelligence strategy, technology's role in the refugee crisis, threats to global health security, and more.