School choice is a tool used to fight inequality and is important to consider how students are assigned to schools. The essays in this dissertation study mechanisms designed to improve and understand students' attendance at schools. Chapter 1 examines the inequality caused by the COVID-19 pandemic with respect to schools switching to a hybrid…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to argue that current ways school systems have addressed social mobility is misguided at best and, at worst, hurts social mobility. Instead, we call for a focus on investment in teachers' professional capital as a primary lever for enhancing the likelihood they can effectively prepare and develop all children…

Policy makers in California intend to provide free preschool to all 4-year-olds solely within public schools by 2026, becoming the nation's second largest single pre-K program in the United States after Head Start. This initiative builds on the state's existing Transitional Kindergarten (TK) option that has served a modest share of 4-year-olds…

The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed the way that families and policymakers view K-12 education. Learning loss is having an outsized impact on students who were furthest from opportunity before the pandemic. And families are increasingly looking for new educational options for their children. For decades, access to educational options…

The public education landscape has changed dramatically since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Communities and school systems throughout the country have faced unimaginable consequences from this public health crisis and the disruption to K-12 public schools. The pandemic's disproportionate impact on low-income communities of color, along with…

In this pilot study, we examine the realities of differential funding structures across the US, which disproportionately disadvantage historically marginalized communities (Black and Brown students) and students living in poverty, contributing to an intractable opportunity gap. Prior research indicates that equitable funding can, in fact, decrease…

In an article written for The Clearing House in 1974 titled, "Alternative schools: Can they survive?", Gerald Brunetti described features of schools that served as an alternative to mainstream public education. He raised the question of whether or not such schools would continue to exist in the future. A search of the literature reveals…

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, signed into law by the president just over six months ago, represents a rare opportunity for governors to leverage federal education funds largely unencumbered by prescriptive federal rules. The bill appropriated $16.2 billion for K-12 education, and Congress astutely set aside $3…

Offering contributions from international leaders in the field, this volume builds on empirically informed meta-analyses to foreground relationship-based aspects of parental involvement in children's education and learning. Chapters explore how factors including parent-child communication, cultural and parental expectations, as well as…

Education can play an important role in making European societies fairer and more inclusive. To accomplish this, education systems must ensure that all young people are able to develop their talents and achieve their full potential regardless of their background. However, socio-economic background continues to be a strong determinant of student…

This is the revised edition of the 2023 "Report on the Condition of Education," which is a congressionally mandated annual report from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Using the most recent data available (at the time this report was written) from NCES and other sources, the report contains key indicators on the…

The "Report on the Condition of Education" is a congressionally mandated annual report from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Using the most recent data available (at the time this report was written) from NCES and other sources, the report contains key indicators on the condition of education in the United States at…