As states reckon with racial enrollment and attainment gaps in higher education, some have made efforts to address them through their higher education funding. Two common approaches are outcomes-based funding (OBF) and Promise programs, as each can be designed with an explicit race equity lens. This report summarizes a two-year study examining the…

This is the executive summary for the report, "Accelerating Students from High School to College and Careers: A Playbook for State Policymakers." College acceleration opportunities can set students up for success. But before this can happen, states need to thoughtfully advance college acceleration opportunities that prioritize quality,…

Quality and Equity in Education draws attention to the importance of developing and testing theories of educational effectiveness and using these theories for improvement purposes. It makes a major contribution to knowledge and theory building in research on promoting quality and equity in education. The book presents an improved version of the…

"Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: A Checklist and Implementation Guide for Community College Boards" was created in cooperation with the associations' Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. The release of the guide follows a commitment made by the association to empower community college leaders to make meaningful changes at their…

This study examines competing justice claims that stakeholders policymakers, district leaders, families, and educators evoked during the 2020 COVID-19 New York City school reopening debates. Drawing on thematic analysis of 300 news and opinion articles, we examine stakeholders' overlapping and contested understandings of justice in public…

This guide outlines the careful considerations and illustrative cases that help board members and campus leaders better understand the flash points surrounding freedom of speech, academic freedom, and the tensions between these free expression rights and diversity, equity, and inclusion in the present campus environment. It offers governing boards…

Today, colleges and universities use overt admissions preferences to create student bodies that reflect the ethnic, racial, or gender demographics of the population--at the expense of academic merit and preparedness. While the original aim of the policy was to end discrimination and promote fairness, it has led to unequal treatment on the basis of…

In "The Learning-Centered University," renowned historian Steven Mintz unveils a comprehensive blueprint for addressing the critical issues of stagnating incomes and productivity, persistent wealth inequalities, and political polarization plaguing colleges and universities today. With practical strategies and a deep understanding of the…

Research shows that socioeconomically, racially, and ethnically integrated schools can have important benefits for student learning. While much research has focused on the benefits of integrated K-12 settings, emerging evidence indicates that the benefit of school- and classroom-level diversity may also be significant in early childhood education…

This book offers context, research, policy, and practice-based recommendations centering college access and success for a historically overlooked population: rural Students and Communities of Color. Through an exploration of how colleges and universities can effectively welcome students from rural areas who identify as Asian and Pacific Islander,…

Schools should be safe places for young people, educators, school staff, and community members, and policies and practices can help create learning environments where kids thrive. Gun violence in U.S. schools has prompted calls for increased school safety measures; however, which policies contribute to safe school environments is often a topic of…

There is an abundance of research on the college admissions process and the practices selective schools employ to evaluate and select students. Most findings are complex, nuanced, or conflicting. Less than a month after the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruled in "Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard" and "Students…

Nearly 1 in 5 U.S. students attend rural schools. Researchers report that at least half of public schools are rural in 12 states (i.e., Montana, South Dakota, Vermont, North Dakota, Maine, Alaska, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Wyoming, New Hampshire, Iowa, and Mississippi) (Showalter et al., 2019). Providing quality education to all rural students is a…

Even though digital technologies are ubiquitous in education, assessment methods continue to employ traditional assessments even though they are inadequate to provide information about a student's reasoning and conceptual understanding. Digital-based assessment models allow students to demonstrate higher-order skills while integrating digital…

A healing-centered community school is intentionally designed and organized to support student well-being as both a facet of learning and an ultimate goal. This practice brief describes the core practices of implementing comprehensive community school strategies. Healing-centered community schools must be organized so that students, educators,…