Tennessee has long recognized the importance of early childhood care and education (ECCE) that children receive prior to school entry. Access to high-quality early teaching and learning contributes to the Tennessee Department of Education's (TDOE) goal that all children become successful readers by third grade, and moreover, better prepares…

This paper examines the effect of birth order on educational attainment in Lesotho. Using family fixed effects models, I find robust negative birth order effects on educational attainment. These results are in sharp contrast with the evidence from many developing countries, but are consistent with that from developed countries. Further, these…

This issue brief is the first in a series examining timely topics that are relevant to Black families and children in the United States. The series identifies key information and opportunities for consideration by policymakers, researchers, practitioners, philanthropists, and others interested in supporting the progress of Black families and…

Building Understanding: Youth Mental Health and Well-Being in Colorado, the 2023 edition of "KIDS COUNT in Colorado!," spotlights trends in youth mental health and access to care. It includes an overview of the most recent data on the topic and offers recommendations for policy action to promote youth mental health in the years ahead.…

The 2022 "KIDS COUNT in Colorado!" report reveals the momentous loss experienced by children and families across the state during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. It illustrates the pandemic's continued, far-reaching effects on Colorado kids--from difficulty accessing health care, child care, early learning opportunities,…

This introductory report outlines the challenges of postsecondary completion, the variable value provided by a postsecondary pathway, and the corresponding cost and debt. Together, these challenges create an inequitable, ineffective, and unsustainable U.S. postsecondary system in which individuals are increasingly reluctant to participate or…

We use data from the Young Lives longitudinal survey to analyse the effect of socioeconomic conditions and gender on the educational performance of young children in India. In particular, we use data for standardised scores on two cognitive tests: the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) and a maths test. Our results show that there are…

The Cal State Student Association (CSSA) and The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS) examine trends in college affordability for California State University (CSU) bachelor's degree recipients compared to its original analysis published six years ago. This new report finds that in 2021-2022, nearly two in three CSU bachelor's degree…

Making college accessible to all includes making it affordable to lower-income families. A growing policy strategy at the state level is to provide individual students with need-based financial aid to offset tuition and living expenses. This strategy inherently presents challenges in choosing which income levels are eligible to receive aid,…

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends 9-12 hours of sleep for children aged 6-12 years and 8-10 hours for those aged 13-18, yet only two-thirds of children meet these recommendations. This report uses 2020 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data to describe regular bedtimes, defined as going to sleep at the same time most days or…

Tuition prices, as well as the living expenses students must cover, have risen rapidly while household incomes have grown slowly or even declined except for those at or near the top of the income distribution. As incomes have stagnated and the savings rate has declined, students have come to depend more and more on financial aid from federal and…

Since 20 March 2020, almost all school-aged children across the UK have been unable to attend school due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Exceptions are small numbers of vulnerable children and those whose parents are keyworkers. Schools have pivoted to remote delivery of learning using a variety of online and offline resources. This report adds to a…

Social and emotional (SE) skills are "individual capacities that (a) are manifested in consistent patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviours, (b) can be developed through formal and informal learning experiences, and (c) influence important socioeconomic outcomes throughout the individual's life" (Organisation for Economic…

State need-based financial aid programs are a key driver of college access and completion for lower-income students and racially marginalized students in California, most of whom attend public two- and four-year colleges and universities and come from families with annual incomes of less than $40,000. As the state's largest need-based financial…

"Children's Budget 2021," the 15th annual Children's Budget analysis, is released as Congress stands at a proverbial crossroads for the nation's kids. For more than a decade, this report has documented mostly bad news, in which the share of federal spending for kids has sharply declined. But, as Congress grappled with how to respond to a…