This paper asks whether universal pre-kindergarten (UPK) raises parents' earnings and how much these earnings effects matter for evaluating the economic returns to UPK programs. Using a randomized lottery design, we estimate the effects of enrolling in a full-day UPK program in New Haven, Connecticut on parents' labor market outcomes as well as…

Research suggests that work environments are associated with turnover patterns for teachers of Color. This study investigates variation in work environments using longitudinal administrative data from 20 large urban and suburban K-12 school districts. Results indicate that teachers of Color are more often employed in "hard-to-staff" work…

Background/Context: Parents and policymakers have long believed that some schools are more effective than others. State testing requirements under No Child Left Behind helped publicize the widely understood fact that schools differ substantially in their students average test scores and treated such scores as key proxies for school quality. More…

Background/Context: Students designated as English Learners (ELs) account for 10.4 percent of all students nationwide but have historically been provided unequal access to educational resources (Gándara et al., 2003; National Center for Education Statistics, 2023). Further, education policies are often blind to ELs' strengths and challenges,…

In partnership with the Louisiana Department of Education and through a grant from the Walton Family Foundation, Mathematica conducted a study that measured each Louisiana public high school's promotion power, which is a school's effect on the long-term success of its students as indicated by high school graduation, college or career readiness,…

Researchers have good data on teachers' annual salaries but a hazy understanding of teachers' hours of work. This makes it difficult to calculate an accurate hourly wage and leads policy makers to default to anecdote rather than fact when debating teacher pay. Using data from the American Time Use Survey, I find that teachers work an average of…

The authors of this report aim to understand the health of the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and labor market in the Appalachia region -- defined as the intersection of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia -- with a focus on the mining and extraction industry. This report is the third in a three-part series.…

This second of five annual reports focuses on employment and wages in energy and advanced manufacturing-related industries and on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education indicators in the Appalachia Partnership Initiative (API) region, comprising twenty-seven counties in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Together,…

This first of five annual reports focuses on employment and wages in energy and advanced manufacturing--related industries and on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education indicators in the Appalachia Partnership Initiative (API) region. Together, these reports will capture trends over the next four years to (1) inform the…

How do salaries of elementary and middle school principals compare with those of other administrators and classroom teachers? Are increases in salaries of principals keeping pace with increases in salaries of classroom teachers? And how have principals' salaries fared over the years when the cost of living is taken into account? There are reliable…

To help inform policymakers and the public about the progress of education in the United States, Congress has mandated that the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) produce an annual report, "The Condition of Education." This year's report presents 42 indicators on important topics and trends in U.S. education. These…

"Newark Kids Count 2004" presents a statistical snapshot of child well-being that can be used to inform those efforts to create a strong community safety net for Newark's youngest citizens. Following is a look at some of the major trends documented in this year's report: (1) Poverty persists; (2) Nutritional supports lag; (3) Unmarried…