Skip to page content

Education Policy

Featured

Education policy includes laws as well as processes and policies that educational organizations, local districts, states, and nations put in place and follow to achieve academic goals. RAND analyses have informed education policy in the United States, United Kingdom, Qatar, and many other countries.

Research Brief
Surges in Undocumented and Asylum-Seeking Children Prompt Need for Better K–12 Policies
Growing numbers of children from Central America and Mexico are arriving in the United States. As of March 2020, 321,000 undocumented and asylum-seeking children were enrolled in public schools. How are the schools managing, and what could be done to help them better prepare to assist these students?
Sep 30, 2021
Report
Anti-Bias Education in U.S. Public Schools
Teaching students explicitly about issues of identity, diversity, equity, and bias can lead to positive outcomes. Nearly three in four K–12 teachers reported that they provide such anti-bias instruction, but more than half said that their school's or district's curriculum materials did not adequately address anti-bias topics.
Feb 22, 2022

Explore Education Policy

Commentary
Making Extended Learning Time Worth the Investment
Five states are experimenting with adding a substantial amount of time to the school year in some schools. This policy initiative holds promise, says Jennifer McCombs.
Dec 14, 2012
Report
The Common Core State Standards and DoD Education Activity Schools
As it implements the Common Core State Standards, the Department of Defense Education Activity should consider developing and providing implementation-specific supports to its schools.
Nov 12, 2012
Report
Evaluating Efforts to Improve School Leadership
Improving school leadership may improve student outcomes. Evaluation is critical for effective use of resources, but poses challenges to states and districts. Evaluators and policymakers should allow time for improvements to show, use multiple evaluation measures, and interpret findings carefully.
Oct 4, 2012
Research Brief
Evaluating Efforts to Improve School Leadership
Efforts to improve school leadership may improve student outcomes. Evaluation is critical for effective use of resources, but it poses challenges. Evaluators and policymakers should allow time for improvements to show, use multiple evaluation measures, and interpret findings carefully before applying them to others.
Oct 4, 2012
Commentary
School Principals Respond to Performance-Based Evaluation System
It's fair to say the program turned out to be an important step for the district in the context of its overall reform plan considering how important high-quality school leadership is for improving teaching and learning, write Laura Hamilton and John Engberg.
Aug 15, 2012
Journal Article
Differences in Life Expectancy Due to Race and Educational Differences Are Widening, and Many May Not Catch Up
It has long been known that despite well-documented improvements in longevity for most Americans, alarming disparities persist among racial groups and between the well-educated and those with less education.
Aug 1, 2012
Research Brief
Improving School Leadership Through the Pittsburgh Principal Incentive Program
A RAND Corporation report examines the Pittsburgh Principal Incentive Program's implementation, how principals have responded to the reforms, and what outcomes followed program implementation.
Jul 2, 2012
News Release
California School Districts Use Budget Flexibility to Balance Budgets, Avoid Layoffs
Most California school districts with new flexibility about how to spend $4.5 billion in education funds opted to move most of the money into their general funds to balance budgets and avoid teacher layoffs.
Jun 25, 2012
Report
What Are the Effects of Performance-Based Compensation for Principals?
This study examines the effects of financial incentives for Pittsburgh principals on teacher supervision, student achievement, and gaps between high- and low-achieving students. Findings suggest that the incentives have had positive impacts, however, performance-based compensation requires more scrutiny.
Jun 25, 2012
Report
California School Districts Use Budget Flexibility to Balance Budgets, Avoid Layoffs
Most California school districts with new flexibility about how to spend $4.5 billion in education funds opted to move most of the money into their general funds to balance budgets and avoid teacher layoffs.
Jun 25, 2012
Research Brief
More Freedom to Spend Less Money: What Happened When California School Districts Gained Spending Flexibility and Budgets Were Cut
Examines how California school districts responded to increased financial flexibility in the face of budget cut.
Jun 25, 2012
Report
Deregulating School Aid in California: Revenues and Expenditures in the Second Year of Categorical Flexibility
Describes statewide patterns in California school district revenues and expenditures in light of a new state policy that increased flexibility over a large number of previously restricted categorical programs.
Jun 25, 2012
Report
Incorporating Child Assessments into State Early Childhood Quality Rating and Improvement Systems
Including child assessments in the design, implementation, and evaluation of quality rating and improvement systems or other quality improvement efforts could improve practice and raise care quality for early childhood education.
Feb 28, 2012
Research Brief
How Child Assessments Can Help Early Childhood Quality Improvement Efforts
Researchers identify five strategies for incorporating child assessments into the design, implementation, and evaluation of initiatives designed to raise the quality of care in early care and education settings.
Feb 28, 2012
Research Brief
Challenges and Opportunities Facing Principals in the First Year at a School
Presents a summary of research on first-year principals' experiences, actions, working conditions, and outcomes; the research is intended to inform efforts to promote school improvement and principal retention.
Feb 23, 2012
Report
First-Year Principals in Urban School Districts: How Actions and Working Conditions Relate to Outcomes
Presents research on first-year principals' experiences, actions, working conditions, and outcomes; the research is intended to inform efforts to promote school improvement and principal retention.
Feb 23, 2012
Brochure
How ImpactFinder Can Aid Universities with the Research Excellence Framework
Impact now plays a role in the allocation of research funding to UK universities through the Research Excellence Framework (REF), presenting universities with a new challenge: how best to capture research results and construct submissions to the REF. ImpactFinder is an analysis and advice package to help senior research leaders determine how best to identify research with the greatest impact and present it to the REF panels.
Jan 19, 2012
Report
Support for Students Exposed to Trauma (Japanese translation)
Japanese translation of Support for Students Exposed to Trauma, a series of lessons aimed at reducing distress for middle school students who have been exposed to a traumatic life event.
Jan 13, 2012
Commentary
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.
Jan 11, 2012
Journal Article
Micropolitics of Implementing a School-Based Bonus Policy: The Case of New York City's Compensation Committees
This article examines the micropolitics of implementing New York City's Schoolwide Performance Bonus Program and school governance bodies (Compensation Committees) that determined distribution of school-level rewards among personnel.
Jan 1, 2012

Previous
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Next

Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

Zhan Okuda-Lim

Assistant Policy Researcher, RAND

Zhan Okuda-Lim is a Ph.D. candidate in the Community-Partnered Policy and Action stream at the Pardee RAND Graduate School and an assistant policy researcher at RAND. His research interests include K-12 education policy and equity; local and state education governance; student, community, and…
Matthew D. Baird

Economist

Matthew Baird is an economist at the RAND Corporation, co-director of the Center for Causal Inference, and a professor at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. His research focuses primarily on understanding labor markets and education policy to improve outcomes for disadvantaged populations.…

Explore Our People »