California is on the cusp of implementing universal preschool--a step that could help level the playing eld for young children. Over the next few years, all four-year-olds will become eligible for Transitional Kindergarten (TK), which has been part of the state's early learning programs since 2012. In this report, the authors examine the…

This research brief is one of a series of six briefs, which provide an overview of available evidence shown in the Campbell-UNICEF Mega-Map of the effectiveness of interventions to improve child wellbeing in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Five of the six briefs summarize evidence as mapped against the five Goal Areas of UNICEF's…

Background/Context: Mozambique has made progress over the past decade in improving both the nutrition and literacy of its population. Nevertheless, rates of illiteracy and malnutrition remain high, particularly in rural areas and among women. In most provinces in Mozambique, schools are overcrowded, student/teacher ratios are high, and reading and…

Ready for Kindergarten! Survey (R4K!S) is a readiness assessment of children entering kindergarten about students' knowledge and skills within the first six to ten weeks of school. There are many interpretations of what constitutes "readiness." Vermont's concept of children's readiness is multidimensional; it includes social and…

This paper examines whether schoolwide free meals affect disciplinary outcomes, focusing on the use of suspensions. Under the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), schools serving sufficiently high-poverty populations may enroll their entire student bodies in free lunch and breakfast programs, extending free meals to some students who would not…

The American School District Panel (ASDP) is the newest addition to the RAND Corporation's American Educator Panels (AEP), which are designed to survey panels of educators several times each year. RAND recruits AEP members using probabilistic sampling methods, which allow researchers to weight survey results to generalize to the national…

Background: Children growing up in poverty tend to perform worse in school than their more economically advantaged peers. Aims: The current study integrates an educational theory of motivation and an evolutionary theory of life history strategies to examine how economic disadvantage predicts children's mathematics achievement through their…

For Chicago to be a strong and vibrant city, it needs to invest in communities, families, and children. Access to a high-quality education and the opportunity to be healthy is key for all children to realize their full potential and contribute to a vibrant city. Studies have consistently documented the powerful connection between health and…

The relationship between charter schools and school integration has been complicated from the start. This report analyzes charter school policies and enrollment trends in each state to attempt to answer the fundamental question, How well do states support integration in charter schools? The centerpiece of the analysis is a series of state…

Background: We gathered baseline data about student need of healthy, free school food, and if current school meal programming serves students in need of healthy free school food, in anticipation of the completion of a district-wide kitchen infrastructure and educational farm project in a high-poverty urban school district. Methods: We used mixed…

Many students rely on school meals to meet their nutritional needs. Additionally, the economic impact of COVID-19 has resulted in more families needing assistance. The intent and purpose of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Child Nutrition Programs is to ensure access to meals for students in need. Meal service is expected to continue whether…

The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a study of 15-year-old students' performance in reading, mathematics, and science literacy conducted every 3 years. The PISA 2018 results provide a global view of U.S. students' performance compared to their peers in nearly 80 countries and education systems. By design, PISA aims to…

Title I schools, those with high percentages of students qualifying for Free and Reduced Meals (FARMS), face many challenges in serving their students. Among the most significant challenges these schools face is the likelihood they will be staffed by larger numbers of inexperienced teachers and inexperienced administrators than non-Title I schools…

Purpose/Objectives: Schools are offering more fruits and vegetables; yet consumption of fruits and vegetables among adolescents remains low. Many schools are implementing Farm-to-School programs to help generate excitement and increase selection of fruits and vegetables by students. The purpose of this research was to determine if a simple tasting…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to create a predictive model to account for the variance in student performance based upon school district categorical expenditures. The study analyzed seven independent variables, which accounted for 16.1% of the variance in student performance of Missouri schools. The study indicated total instructional…