Follow the User Guide to start building your site.
NEW EdWorkingPapers
Landscape Analysis of the Teaching Profession
The following report represents our attempt both to synthesize the current landscape of the teaching profession in the United States and to identify areas of research, policy, and practice which show promise in strengthening the profession. To guide our development of this landscape analysis, we conducted a robust review of existing research on the state of the teaching profession, as well as… more →
The Expansion of Alternative Schools: Impact of Schools Targeting Lower Performing Students
Despite rising high school graduation rates in the US, a substantial portion of students do not obtain a high school degree. Alternative schools have emerged as a potential solution offering opportunities for credit recovery and flexible scheduling. Using variation in the timing and proximity of alternative school expansions in Chicago, we find that living within a mile of an alternative… more →
A Sandbox for Hard Choices: Using Simulation to Explore School Closure Scenarios and Their Consequences
School closures are often justified through seemingly neutral criteria such as enrollment or performance, but these metrics can unintentionally deepen educational disparities. This study uses a large urban district’s administrative data to simulate 5,040 closure scenarios, systematically varying seven policy design principles, including proximity, enrollment, seat utilization, building quality… more →
Closing the Gaps: An Examination of Early Impacts of Dallas ISD’s Opt-out Policy on Advanced Course Enrollment
Advanced high school courses predict subsequent student success, but fewer Black and Hispanic students take advanced courses compared to their White peers. One strategy to increase advanced course enrollment is to use an “opt-out” approach, in which all students are enrolled in advanced courses unless they decline. We use a synthetic control design to evaluate the impact of an optout policy in… more →
Does Civic Education Impact Primary-School Students’ Civic Outcomes? Experimental Evidence from Liberia
We present experimental evidence on a civic education program in Liberia's public primary schools across 140 schools serving grades 3 and 4. The program provided new civic textbooks, teacher training, bi-weekly instruction, and regular classroom monitoring. After one school year, treatment students scored 0.38 SDs higher on civic knowledge assessments. Gains were concentrated in factual… more →
School Finance in the US
This chapter provides an overview of K-12 public school finance in the United States by tracing how funding systems changed over time, how they operate today, and how well they advance core policy goals. Section 2 documents the long-run shift from local property tax finance toward larger state and federal roles, driven by economic crises, legislation, and litigation. Section 3 describes the… more →
Policy and Practice Series
Webinar Series
The Bigger Picture: Key Trends in America’s Changing Education Landscape
Are the enrollment and achievement declines we’re seeing just pandemic fallout, or something deeper? The papers featured in this webinar provide essential context for evaluating common narratives about recent changes in student achievement and enrollment.