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Education and Literacy

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RAND research on early childhood, K-12, and higher education covers issues such as assessment and accountability, choice-based and standards-based reform, school leadership, teacher effectiveness, technology, and vocational training. RAND also explores life skills, such as media, health, and financial literacy, as well as how time spent outside the classroom impacts student outcomes.

Report
What Do Principals Look for in STEM Afterschool Programs?
Principals value offering science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) afterschool programs to their students. Robotics is popular, and computing, coding, and gaming are considered important by district leaders. Many partner with outside providers, but more would do so if they had more funding and more local providers.
Nov 8, 2023
Commentary
Educating Academics Will Ease UK Universities' Foreign Influence Crisis
Tackling China's quest for foreign technologies is tough. China exploits the very principles—openness, freedom, collaboration—that have fostered scientific breakthroughs to acquire foreign technologies. This makes it difficult to intervene without damaging these values in the process.
Oct 19, 2023

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Report
Strengthening the Manufacturing Workforce in Ohio
The authors of this report examine the pipeline between Ohio’s postsecondary education system and the manufacturing workforce, focusing on ways to bolster the supply of workers and the diversity of the workforce.
Sep 14, 2023
News Release
Most Ohio Students Who Earn Manufacturing-Related Credentials Work in Other Industries; Findings Hold Lessons for Push ...
Most students who complete manufacturing-related credentials in Ohio do not end up employed in manufacturing in the state, highlighting a challenge that faces policymakers as they push to create more U.S. manufacturing jobs.
Sep 14, 2023
Report
State Curriculum Reforms and Their Potential Contribution to Instructional System Coherence: A Case Study of Rhode Island and Tennessee
RAND researchers investigate how English language arts curriculum reforms in Rhode Island and Tennessee might be related to the adoption and use of standards-aligned curriculum materials and teachers’ perceptions of instructional system coherence.
Sep 13, 2023
Report
All Work and No Pay: Teachers' Perceptions of Their Pay and Hours Worked
Since the pandemic, there have been some positive improvements in teacher well-being. However, teachers in some states are still leaving their jobs at rates higher than before COVID-19 hit. How might salary and work hours affect their decisions to leave?
Sep 12, 2023
News Release
U.S. Teachers Are Less Satisfied with Their Pay Than Most Working Adults
Sixty-six percent of U.S. teachers who responded to a new, nationally representative survey said their base salary was inadequate, compared with 39 percent of U.S. working adults. These teachers want a $17,000 increase in base pay, on average, to feel that their pay is adequate.
Sep 12, 2023
Periodical
RAND Review: September-October 2023
Features explore the impact of four-day school weeks; the risk of people in the intelligence community experiencing trauma; and how insomnia affects societal health, well-being, and productivity.
Sep 11, 2023
Journal Article
The Thin Blue Line in Schools: New Evidence on School-Based Policing Across the U.S.
We find that school resource officers reduce some forms of violence, but do not prevent gun-related incidents. We also find that SROs intensify the use of suspension, expulsion, police referral, and arrest of students.
Sep 11, 2023
Blog
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.
Sep 8, 2023
Report
Students Using Lexia® Core5® Reading Show Greater Reading Gains Than Matched Comparison Students
This report evaluates the effects of Lexia® Core5® Reading on the reading achievement of students in grades 3–5 during the 2021–2022 academic year. Students who used the program experienced gains in average reading achievement.
Sep 6, 2023
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.
Sep 6, 2023
Blog
The State of Public Education, the Opioid Crisis, Defending Taiwan: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on the state of public education in America right now, a missing piece of the strategy for addressing the opioid crisis, emerging technology that could help defend Taiwan, and more.
Sep 1, 2023
Tool
Decoding Income Share Agreements: A Resource for Learners and Financial Aid Professionals
This tool is designed to help people figure out whether an income share agreement (ISA) is right for them. It provides information about how ISAs work, how to estimate monthly and total ISA payments, and how to weigh the benefits and risks of ISAs.
Aug 31, 2023
Brochure
The American Educator Panels Pricing Sheet: Taking the Pulse of America's Educators
This pricing guide describes the American Educator Panels and provides costs for the various research options available.
Aug 31, 2023
Commentary
Money, Markets, and Machine Learning: Unpacking the Risks of Adversarial AI
The consequences of ignoring the problem of adversarial attacks in algorithmic trading are potentially catastrophic. In a world increasingly reliant on machine learning models, the financial sector needs to shift from being reactive to proactive to ensure the security and integrity of our financial system.
Aug 31, 2023
Essay
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?
Aug 31, 2023
Commentary
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.
Aug 28, 2023
Blog
The War in Ukraine, Income Share Agreements, the Tech 'Cold War': RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on why Ukraine isn’t like World War I, an alternative to student loans, the tech “Cold War
Aug 25, 2023
Report
The Role of Benchmark Assessments in Coherent Instructional Systems: Findings from the 2022 American Instructional Resources Survey
Researchers draw on the American Instructional Resources Survey to examine the prevalence of benchmark assessments and explore educators' perceptions about the role that benchmark assessments play in their schools' instructional systems.
Aug 23, 2023
Journal Article
Deepfakes and Scientific Knowledge Dissemination
We field the first study to understand the vulnerabilities of education stakeholders to science deepfakes and the characteristics that moderate vulnerability.
Aug 23, 2023
Commentary
Is Believing Our Kids Are Safer Worth Closing Off Some of Their Futures?
Placing an officer in a school appears to reduce violence and petty crimes within a school. But it also creates long-term negative consequences for students who are increasingly likely to become involved in the school disciplinary system.
Aug 22, 2023

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RAND Topic:
Education and Literacy

Topic Synonyms:
Instruction;
Learning;
Schooling

Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

Heather L. Schwartz

Director, Pre-K to 12 Educational Systems Program

Heather Schwartz is the director of the Pre-K to 12 educational systems program, a senior policy researcher at RAND, and a professor of policy analysis at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. She also co-directs the American School District Panel. She researches education and housing policies…
Elaine Leigh

Associate Policy Researcher

Elaine W. Leigh (she/her) is an associate policy researcher at the RAND Corporation. Her research broadly examines policies and practices that address inequities in postsecondary and workforce transitions for historically excluded students. Recent areas of inquiry include understanding workforce…

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