Chronic absence, defined most commonly as missing 10 percent or more of school for any reason (including excused and unexcused absences and suspensions), is a cross-cutting metric that is both a warning sign and predictor of education and health outcomes. California has recognized the power of chronic absence as a tool for better understanding…

In the wake of public-health stay-at-home orders prompted by the coronavirus, the United States faces a nearly inevitable economic recession in the coming months. With a slowing economy will come a contraction in state revenues, including funding for public education. States are beginning to make budget-cutting calculations and are bracing for the…

In 2013, the California legislature passed AB 97, or the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), a sweeping bill designed to reform its school funding system. This study's purpose is to determine the early impact of the LCFF on African American high school students and their families. Student data was collected via surveys and focus groups using…

Nationally, 28 percent of all public elementary and secondary schools were in rural locations in 2013-14, serving 18 percent of all K-12 students (U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics 2015). Rural schools serve students in sparsely populated areas and have smaller overall populations than schools in other…

All of the 15 states in this study have recently been involved in school accountability system reform. Since 2011, the states have taken advantage of a federal program to give them flexibility around certain accountability requirements of the "No Child Left Behind Act" of 2001 (NCLB), the most recent reauthorization of the Elementary and…

The Thomas B. Fordham Foundation's sponsorship annual report highlights our work with eleven schools that served 4,150 students in five Ohio cities during the 2016-17 school year. We value this opportunity to keep stakeholders and the public informed about our efforts, and provide information on each of the schools that we sponsor. Additionally,…

The Title VI Indian Education Formula Grants program represents the U.S. Department of Education's largest investment in addressing the unique academic and cultural needs of American Indian and Alaska Native children. The program is aimed at supporting services that (1) are responsive to the unique cultural, language, and educational needs of…

This is the technical appendices for the report, "Implementation of the Title VI Indian Education Formula Grants Program." Three appendices are included. The appendices are: (1) Supplemental Exhibits; (2) Data Collection Instruments; and (3) Title VI Indian Student Eligibility Certification Form (ED 506 Form). [For "Implementation…

Indian Education Formula Grants represent the U.S. Department of Education's largest investment in addressing the unique academic and cultural needs of American Indian and Alaska Native students. The program is aimed at supporting services that are responsive to the unique cultural, language, and educational needs of these students and help them…

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA or the Recovery Act) of 2009 provided an unprecedented level of funding designed to "stimulate the economy in the short-term and invest wisely, using these funds to improve schools, raise achievement, drive reforms and produce better results for children and young people for the long-term…

Everyone knows that low-income and minority students often face steep hurdles. Although these challenges sometimes have roots outside of school, compelling evidence shows that great teachers and well-run schools can have powerful effects on student learning and help close achievement gaps. Yet in most parts of the country, people do exactly the…

Education is important for all children, but even more so for children with disabilities, whose social and economic opportunities may be limited. In this article, Laudan Aron and Pamela Loprest assess how well the nation's education system is serving students with disabilities. Aron and Loprest trace the evolution of the special education system…

The School Improvement Grants (SIG) program, which was created in 2002, funds reforms in the country's lowest-performing schools with the goal of improving student outcomes, such as standardized test scores and graduation rates. Congress greatly increased SIG program funding from $125 million available in fiscal year 2007--the first year the…

Congress is currently considering updating the key legislation that governs K-12 public education--the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Noticeably missing from the current law, more commonly known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB), is a comprehensive early learning agenda, which span from preschool through 3rd grade. The Obama…

On September 8, 2011, the President proposed the American Jobs Act to Congress, including investments of $25 billion to renovate and modernize at least 35,000 of America's public schools; $5 billion to upgrade infrastructure at America's community colleges; and $30 billion to keep hundreds of thousands of educators in the classroom. This report…