The Social Security Administration is funding a random assignment evaluation of six demonstration projects to improve employment and other outcomes for youth ages 14 to 25 who are either receiving disability benefits or are at high risk of receiving them in the future. This report reviews the Youth Transition Demonstration (YTD) projects, located…

On February 17, 2009, President Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law. Passed in response to the 2008 recession, the Act's purpose was to create jobs, pump money into the economy, and encourage spending. Through the Act, states received $1.2 billion in funding for the workforce investment system to provide…

In 2007, using funds from the federal Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) and private foundations, the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) began piloting its version of a schoolwide reform model called the Teacher Advancement Program (TAP). Under the TAP model, teachers can earn extra pay and take on increased responsibilities through promotion (to mentor…

The Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) charter schools' consistently positive impacts on student achievement (detailed in Volume I of this report) have prompted efforts to scale up the KIPP model to serve more students. According to the KIPP model, highly qualified and autonomous principals, supported by national and regional staff, drive the…

The Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) is a bold effort to create a network of charter schools designed to transform and improve the educational opportunities available to low/income families. KIPP schools seek to actively engage students and parents in the educational process, expand the time and effort students devote to their studies, reinforce…

In 2006, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation launched the Early Learning Initiative (ELI) to improve the school readiness of Washington State's children through three main strategies: (1) development of high-quality, community-wide early learning initiatives in two communities; (2) enhancement of statewide systems that support early…

Although Missouri has had a Career Ladder program for teachers since 1987, very little research has been carried out to measure the program's effects and what has been studied has not been comprehensive. This paper examines the program's effect on student achievement across the state, using longitudinal data on district math and reading scores for…

In February 2007, First 5 LA contracted with Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. (MPR) and its subcontractors, Juarez and Associates, American Institutes for Research (AIR), and Berkeley Evaluation and Assessment Research (BEAR) Center, to conduct the First 5 LA/LAUP Universal Preschool Child Outcomes Study (UPCOS). The authors conducted the study…

In this set of four supplemental tables, the authors compare the baseline test scores of the treatment and matched control group samples observed in each year after KIPP entry (outcome years 1 to 4). As discussed in Chapter III, the authors used an iterative propensity score estimation procedure to calculate each student's probability of entering…

Charter schools--public schools of choice that are operated autonomously, outside the direct control of local school districts--have become more prevalent over the past two decades. There is no consensus about whether, on average, charter schools are doing better or worse than conventional public schools at promoting the achievement of their…

Recess periods often lack the structure needed to support physical activity and positive social development (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation 2010). The Playworks program places full-time coaches in low-income schools to provide opportunities for organized play during recess and throughout the school day. Playworks activities are designed to engage…

In 2007, the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) began implementing a schoolwide reform called the Teacher Advancement Program (TAP) using funds from the federal Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) and private foundations. Under the TAP model, teachers can earn extra pay and responsibilities through promotion to mentor or master teacher as well as annual…

We used data from the School Nutrition Dietary Assessment III Study to examine the dietary patterns of school meal program participants and nonparticipants and the relationship between school meal participation and children's BMI and risk of overweight or obesity. School Breakfast Program (SBP) participants consumed more low nutrient energy dense…

The Teacher Advancement Program (TAP) was developed in the late 1990s by the Milken Family Foundation as a schoolwide policy to improve schools by raising teacher quality. Under the TAP model, teachers can earn extra pay and responsibilities through promotion to Mentor or Master Teacher and can earn annual performance bonuses based on a…

This report investigates three important aspects of National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP) participation using recently collected data on a large, nationally representative sample of students certified for free and reduced-price meals during the 2005-2006 school year. First, we examine the factors that influence…