There are many changes occurring in higher education, and often it is difficult to see trends nationally. In this presentation, experts working with national data present trends in higher education from a forward-looking perspective. Senior researchers from the College Board provide trends using College Board SAT and AP data, as well as new…

The purpose of this ex-post facto quantitative study was to evaluate the benefits of professional technical postsecondary education in Idaho. Human capital theory formed the basis of understanding the importance of acquiring education beyond high school, both for the individual and society. Interactions between entry earnings and cost of attending…

The education Millennium Development Goals have been highly influential on the priorities for education and concentrated policy efforts on numbers of girls enrolled in public sector schools offering basic education. This focus has been justified by human capital calculations of the social rates of return to basic schooling. This concern with…

Each year, Austin Independent School District Department of Research and Evaluation (DRE) staff develop a plan of work to describe the scope of work for the coming year. The plans that make up this document identify programs to be evaluated and services to be provided by DRE staff and provide the blueprints for evaluation that staff will follow…

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) are long-standing policies that link cash assistance to low-income families to work effort. A new policy being tested in New York City adopts this "conditional cash transfer" principle and extends it to a broader set of family efforts to build their…

This report explains some of the ways the payoff of postsecondary education can be measured and provides insights into why there is confusion about that payoff, despite strong evidence. Focusing on the variation in outcomes across individuals helps to clarify that the existence of the high average payoff, and the reality of significant benefits…

A college education has long been acknowledged as essential for both personal success and economic growth. But the measurable value of its nonmonetary benefits has until now been poorly understood. Walter W. McMahon, a leading education economist, carefully describes these benefits and suggests that higher education accrues significant social and…

Human capital and functionalist paradigms underpin the stance taken by most governments to education policy. These models have also had a profound effect upon the determination of education priorities in the poorest states and, indeed, upon aid policy. This paper argues, on the basis of evidence from the papers in this volume and from the wider…

The PISA studies in recent years have disclosed fundamental problems in the educational and training systems of many countries. According to the studies, it seems that simply increasing the education expenditures per pupil regularly does not sufficiently achieve better pupil performances. This "input-oriented" policy does not have any…

This paper examines the key issues at stake for national economies in increasing the number of PhDs to meet expected needs for human capital in science, technology and innovation using illustrations mainly from the European Commission's "Careers of Doctorate Holders" surveys on PhD labour market outcomes; it has been shown that PhD…

A commonly held belief is that formal education has a strong positive association with earnings (Sanchez, 1998). The motivation for individuals to pursue and complete an education beyond high school is likely founded in the hopes of higher paying jobs or a higher position. The "economic benefits" of a community college education can be…

Since 2005, in Ontario, RPN's have had the option to return to school to obtain their BScN degree in three years of full time study instead of four years. Many of these students are mature and come with prior family and financial responsibilities that add extra challenges to their learning experience. Questioning their choice of investment in…

Using a generalized production function approach and insights from empirical research on the determinants of growth, this paper assesses the relative importance of specific factors in explaining differences in the levels of per capita GDP. Emphasis is placed on education, physical capital accumulation, the share of the public sector in economic…

Studies of small-scale "model" early-childhood programs show that high-quality preschool can have transformative effects on human capital and economic outcomes. Evidence on the Head Start program is more mixed. Inputs and practices vary widely across Head Start centers, however, and little is known about variation in effectiveness within…

Certificates, diplomas and titles are commonly known as qualifications. Their purpose is to show employers, training providers, and individuals what the person holding the qualification has learned and can do. Every country issues many different qualifications, but for the European labor market to work as intended--that is for European citizens to…