Research has demonstrated that federal Head Start centers, which provide preschool care to children from low-income families, have little or no long-term academic value for children. This "Backgrounder" adds to the evidence that Head Start has failed to achieve its objectives and should be sunset, not expanded, by demonstrating a…

Policymakers, child care providers, and parents face tradeoffs in determining how much to spend on child care, including how many hours to purchase, and the features of programs that might influence quality. Given these tradeoffs, it is useful to understand what constitutes quality, the cost of care features associated with quality, the effects of…

Only about one-third of children attending school in the United States can read proficiently at fourth grade, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as "the nation's report card." If that is not dismaying enough, consider the outcomes for the nation's most vulnerable students. The first eight years of…

This paper presents the U.S. Department of Education's Fiscal Year (FY) "2010 Summary of Performance and Financial Information." FY 2010 was a transition year for the Department as it moves to a new strategic plan. The Department is still firmly committed to its mission of promoting achievement and preparation for global competitiveness…

Most states are participating in the initiative led by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers to develop and adopt voluntary common core state standards that will outline what elementary and secondary school students are expected to learn in English language arts and mathematics. Implementing these…

With the passage of P.L. 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, now the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and subsequent amendments, states and jurisdictions have made great strides in the provision of services to young children, ages 3 through 5 years, with disabilities. As of Fall 2009, America's…

Background/Context: In 1994, the Spencer Foundation embarked on an ambitious experimental initiative to support the preparation of education researchers. Over the 13-year span of the Research Training Grant (RTG) program, the foundation made multiyear awards to more than a dozen leading institutions in the United States and South Africa. This…

The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education's report,"Measuring Up 2006: The National Report Card on Higher Education" found that among 27 industrialized nations, the United States has fallen to fifth in the percentage of young adults enrolled in college and has dropped to sixteenth in the proportion of those students…

The report presents data and discussion on U.S. education across sectors, as well as the work of the Office of Education. Among topics covered are increasing equal opportunity, including desegregation assistance, civil rights advisory services, education of disadvantaged children, grants to local education agencies, migrant children, neglected and…

The report presents data and discussion on U.S. education across sectors, as well as the work of the Office of Education. Among topics covered are education-equalization programs, including desegregation assistance, civil rights advisory services, education of disadvantaged children, grants to local education agencies, migrant children, neglected…