Universal voucher programs for schools are rapidly expanding across the country. Under these programs, states give parents stipends to either homeschool their children or send them to private school. The growing popularity of vouchers raises a host of crucial questions and concerns. Key to informing the debate are questions of public finance and…

The Federal STEM Education Strategic plan recognizes the importance of building computational literacy today. This document is aligned to the Computational Literacy Interagency Working Group (IWGCL) objectives to: (1) develop a common operational definition; (2) identify existing research on computational literacy; and (3) identify existing…

During the 118th Congress, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce marked up and ordered reported the College Cost Reduction Act (CCRA; H.R. 6951). Most of the bill's provisions would amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA; P.L. 89-329, as amended), though it is not a comprehensive reauthorization of the HEA. Nevertheless, the bill…

Tangible programming tools (TPTs) are promising teaching aids in programming courses due to their interactivity and ability to enhance early childhood students' computational thinking, spatial reasoning, and executive function skills. However, it remains unclear whether TPTs support these skills simultaneously. This study examines the impact of…

Over the last three decades, the Direct Loan program has grown in size and complexity, with almost $1.4 trillion in outstanding federal student loans. The Direct Loan program provides financial assistance to students and their parents to help pay for postsecondary education. The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) was asked to review changes…

This applied research methods report is a guide for state and local education agency policymakers and their analysts who are interested in studying teacher mobility and retention. This report provides the foundational information needed to answer policy-relevant research questions related to teacher mobility and retention and presents the decision…

There is strong evidence that children who attend high-quality pre-kindergarten (pre-K) programs learn skills that benefit them in school and life. The price tag of most private programs puts them out of reach for some families, however. In response, many states and school districts fund pre-K programs to expand opportunities for their youngest…

High tuition makes headlines and may dissuade students from pursuing college or excluding what appear to be high-cost colleges. However, a college's "sticker price" can be misleading because it does not reflect any grant or scholarship aid that reduces the price students actually pay. As the costs of attending college have risen, the…

In today's digital society, computational thinking (CT) is a critical component of all children's education. In "Computational Thinking Curricula in K-12," editors Harold Abelson and Siu-Cheung Kong present a range of professional perspectives on the most effective ways to integrate CT into school curricula. Their edited volume, which…

This report describes the design, methods, and results of the 2016/20 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B:16/20) conducted by the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). It is the second follow-up with a cohort of bachelor's degree recipients originally identified during the 2015-16 National…

Districts across the nation are seeking ways to increase efficiency by maintaining, if not improving, educational outcomes using fewer resources. One measure that is sometimes used as a proxy for school district efficiency is an expenditure-to-performance ratio, for example a ratio of per pupil expenditures to student academic performance. This…

This report describes the need analysis formulas used to calculate the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) for federal student aid applicants. The formulas are codified in Title IV of the Higher Education Act (HEA), as amended. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the data collection instrument through which students submit the…

This technical appendix provides additional information about the sample, data, and estimation strategy that were used for a series of AEP Data Notes published by the RAND Corporation in 2018 and 2019. The Data Note series is intended to provide brief, incisive analyses of teacher and school leader survey results which may be of immediate interest…

The field of education is increasingly committed to adopting evidence-based practices. Although randomized experimental designs provide strong evidence of the causal effects of interventions, they are not always feasible. For example, depending upon the research question, it may be difficult for researchers to find the number of children necessary…

The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) Standards Briefs explain the rules the WWC uses to evaluate the quality of studies for practitioners, researchers, and policymakers. Attrition (loss of sample) occurs when individuals initially included in a study are not included in the final study analysis. Attrition is a common issue in education research and…