Utilizing a lottery-based natural experiment, this study assessed the longer-term impact of early colleges on postsecondary degree attainment. It found that early colleges significantly increased the overall degree completion and associate degree completion rates within 10 years of expected high school graduation. While the impact on bachelor's…

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) helps people with low incomes avoid hunger and afford food. It stimulates the economy, improves individuals' success at school and work, and promotes better health. SNAP's Employment and Training (E&T) program is designed to assist participants in gaining skills, training, or work experience…

The Pell Grant is the foundational need-based student aid program in the United States, providing students of lower socio-economic status a pathway to afford college costs and educational expenses. Currently, over one-third of all U.S. undergraduate students receive Pell. This paper examines federal Pell assistance and institutional costs for…

In this descriptive and comparative study, we present results highlighting the complexity and scope of the challenges facing rural districts as they navigate the changing demographics of the students and families they serve. Rapid increases in the number and concentration of racially, culturally, and linguistically diverse students in rural areas…

Community colleges are mission-driven institutions committed to access and community needs. They serve a diverse population: The majority of students are employed, so they have to balance work with school; about one-third are first-generation, so they are navigating an unfamiliar system for the first time in their families; and 15% are single…

This Policy Brief defines dual enrollment and common barriers to entry for historically underserved student populations. It identifies three opportunities for policies to expand access and make it more equitable: (1) Protect low-income students' access to dual enrollment; (2) Re-examine student eligibility policies; and (3) Encourage greater…

In August, the Manhattan Institute (MI) contracted with Rasmussen Reports to survey public opinion in five states about school choice policies generally, as well as charter schools specifically. Working with MI, Rasmussen crafted nine questions that were added to the organization's regular polling of likely voters for presidential and senatorial…

When the U.S. Census Bureau began releasing population reports from the 2010 count, the findings reaffirmed demographers' projections about the nation's rapidly changing racial, ethnic, and economic makeup. African-American, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American populations grew about 30 percent since 2000 and will account for a majority of the…

This report provides a new resource for understanding the state of urban public schools in the U.S. Geared specifically toward city leaders who want to evaluate how well traditional district and charter schools are serving all their city's children and how their schools compare to those in other cities, the report measures outcomes for all public…

Purpose: A factor largely overlooked amid the press for greater security in schools is the extent to which law enforcement participates in search and seizure and the implications such actions carry for student civil liberties. As case law suggests, police engaged in school searches may be held to the probable cause standard or the more flexible…

Public education in America continues to be viewed as being worthy of major investments to improve the county's economic position in the world. But quality education for many Americans is still not within their reach. Fifty years after the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision in "Brown v. Board of Education" eliminating legal segregation of…

"Moving the Needle on Poverty" is designed to provide Colorado leaders with an up-to-date picture of the diverse strategies that states across the nation are pursuing to lift individuals, families, and communities out of poverty. As the report indicates, many states are choosing to set specific and measurable goals for poverty reduction,…

This publication provides descriptive information about the 100 largest school districts in the United States. Almost one in every four public school students in this nation is served by one of these large districts. They are distinguished from the average district by characteristics, in addition to sheer size, such as pupil-teacher ratios, high…