The "2015 State of Preschool Yearbook" profiles state-funded prekindergarten programs in the United States. This Yearbook presents data on state-funded prekindergarten during the 2014-2015 school year as well as documenting more than a decade of change in state pre-K since the first Yearbook collected data on the 2001-2002 school year.…

Promoting family economic security and mobility requires collaboration across key systems that serve families. This report describes opportunities for the early childhood and higher education systems to support each other's key goals for system advancements to increase economic mobility among America's families. It provides examples of early…

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) play an important and unique role in the higher education system and in their local and regional economies. Small Business Administration (SBA) works with many colleges and universities to provide entrepreneurial training and counseling on campuses. SBA is also part of a long-standing White…

Placement decisions for students with severe disabilities have often been based less on the students' unique learning needs but more on beliefs and presumptions about student learning, entrenched school district policies that restrict program delivery options, and other variables unrelated to student needs. In light of the benefits associated with…

Federal education policies gave political and financial support for state education agencies to turnaround low-performing schools on an unprecedented scale. North Carolina's ambitious program turned around over half of all schools nationwide that underwent turnaround funded by Race to the Top. Exploiting the assignment to turnaround based on…

This article reviews research on issues surrounding postsecondary transitions for youth in middle (North Central, Central, and South Central) Appalachia, a region that faces numerous education challenges because of its geography, poverty, and economy. Examining published research and data from 1995 to 2015, the review seeks to inform education…

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) works to promote efficiency, effectiveness, and integrity in the programs and operations of the U.S. Department of Education (Department). Through OIG's audits, inspections, investigations, and other reviews, they continue to identify areas of concern within the Department's programs and operations and…

The Inspector General Act of 1978 (Public Law 95-452), as amended, requires that the Inspector General report semiannually to the Congress on the activities of the Office of Inspector General (OIG) during the 6-month periods ending March 31 and September 30. This Semiannual Report presents the activities and accomplishments of the U.S. Department…

In developing countries, an increasing number of civil society organizations (CSOs) engage in independent monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of government programs and policies. Most CSOs rely on a range of M&E tools in combination with advocacy strategies to hold government accountable and improve the implementation of programs and policies.…

Head Start (HS) is the largest federally funded preschool program for disadvantaged children. Research has shown relatively small impacts on cognitive and social skills; therefore, some have questioned its effectiveness. Using data from the Head Start Impact Study (3-year-old cohort; N = 2,449), latent class analysis was used to (a) identify…

In his testimony, Jon Baron, president of Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy, recommends reauthorization of the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program (MIECHV) Program. He outlines three reasons that support his recommendation: (1) MIECHV represents an important, bipartisan departure from the usual approach to social…

This is the seventh in a series of hearings to inform this committee's reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. The focus of this hearing, teacher preparation, is profoundly important for all students, from the very youngest to adult students. Study after study shows that teacher quality is the decisive in-school factor in boosting student…

For over four decades, Upward Bound programs have influenced students' aspirations and goals toward attending college, college enrollment, and overall educational achievement, providing a standard for successful college preparation for historically marginalized students. Although Upward Bound has helped many Americans prepare for and earn their…

This article presents faculty perceptions of the first month of iPad deployment in a national college system and a case study describing the integration of mobile learning devices in one college, interpreted within the framework of a SWOT analysis. We include a brief history of the implementation; description of the three-tier structure of…

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) developed the Comprehensive School Safety Initiative in consultation with federal partners and Congress. It is a research-focused initiative designed to increase the safety of schools nationwide through the development of knowledge regarding the most effective and sustainable school safety interventions and…