At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, home visiting programs were faced with an unprecedented challenge: How do you deliver home visiting services without visiting homes? One home visiting model--Child First--quickly pivoted to telehealth, offering caregivers the option to receive services virtually. Child First has since resumed delivering…

Having a qualified, stable, and healthy workforce is a critical component of a thriving early care and education (ECE) system. However, ECE educators--especially those who are women of color--have long encountered low wages and a lack of benefits, coupled with a physically demanding and stressful work environment. Burnout and teacher turnover are…

Through the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of March 2020, Congress created the first-ever federal emergency aid program for higher education, the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF). In the 2020-21 academic year, MDRC partnered with the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators…

The field of career and technical education (CTE) has been evolving in recent years. Formerly known as vocational education, high-quality CTE programs are being championed by educators, policymakers, and employers alike, who recognize that these robust models can help high school students acquire the skills, training, and postsecondary credentials…

Madison Strategies Group (MSG), which operates Tulsa Community WorkAdvance (TCW) in Tulsa, Oklahoma, participated in MDRC's study of WorkAdvance, a sector-based training and career advancement program that prepares people for jobs in manufacturing and transportation. In 2015, TCW also began a health care training program in partnership with CAP…

When the pandemic forced schools across the country to close their doors in March 2020, many district and school leaders worked quickly to plan for and address students' "unfinished learning." How would they support students who had been exposed to content, but had not yet had a chance to master it? Research supports two ways schools can…

While the COVID-19 pandemic has led to high unemployment rates overall, low-wage workers have been hit particularly hard. It is likely that many of the jobs lost as a result of the current recession will never return, even as new jobs are created. Some job seekers may have to learn new skills so they can find employment in a new field. Sector…

Open-access colleges are an important pathway to economic mobility for millions of Americans. But graduation rates at these colleges are low--for example, only 36 percent of first-time, full-time freshmen at community colleges graduate within three years. Over the last two decades, MDRC and others have conducted research to build the evidence base…

The Assessment-to-Instruction (A2i) Professional Support System has been shown to be effective in improving literacy proficiency among young readers by combining data-driven technology with professional development (PD) activities to help teachers provide personalized literacy instruction. To identify efficient ways to expand the reach of A2i,…

There is clear evidence that the COVID-19 pandemic had significant negative effects on the learning and development of school-age children in the United States, with disproportionate impacts on children from racially, ethnically, and socioeconomically marginalized groups. There is less consistent evidence on the extent to which the pandemic…

The COVID-19 crisis has upended students' lives and their career plans, including their ability to line up college internships. As millions of people across the country continue to work or attend school from home, many companies and organizations have had to cancel their internship programs, which are an important part of recruitment and diversity…

Drawing on the science of learning and human development, educational leaders are seeking ways to integrate approaches that develop the whole child, elevating the child's social and emotional development and well-being so they are considered as important as academic development. They are also increasingly aware that to address disparities in…

Existing research has found that home visiting programs for families with young children can improve children's development and strengthen caregivers' and families' well-being. However, the pandemic created numerous challenges for home visiting programs, forcing them to deliver services online or in a hybrid format and to adapt the content of…

11 community colleges in New Jersey and two Historically Black Community Colleges (one in Alabama and one in Mississippi) joined the OnPath project, which had the goal to help community college students stay enrolled during the pandemic. OnPath facilitated a powerful combination of people and knowledge by bringing together college staff members…

In spring 2020, teachers across the country suddenly faced the need to conduct remote instruction due to the COVID-19 crisis. They quickly adopted new technology and new routines to teach content they'd previously only delivered face-to-face in their classrooms. Now, as educators prepare for the possibility of remote learning extending into the…