As part of a study investigating research productivity of sociology PhD students in Australia, an application to the federal government's Department of Education, Skills and Employment (DESE) aimed to establish a baseline count of completed sociology doctorates by university. It was anticipated that university totals might be different from PhD…

This report contains the testimony of Preston Cooper, a senior fellow focusing on the economics of higher education at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), to the House Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies concerning the federal role in postsecondary education, and the…

Community colleges offer an important pathway to the middle class. However, many students fall off the path along the way; almost half of students drop out and only 38% complete a degree within eight years, according to an analysis by Preston Cooper of the American Enterprise Institute. These statistics are even worse for at-risk, minority and…

This policy brief summarizes and critiques the findings of the US Department of Education's Section 5005 Report on Rural Education. In September of 2018, the Department of Education released the "Section 5005 Report on Rural Education: Final Report." The report was written in response to a provision of the Every Student Succeeds Act of…

American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) students continue to have some of the lowest high school graduation and postsecondary attainment rates in the nation. There are a variety of factors that lead to inequitable outcomes for these students. They typically face significantly higher levels of student need, as they are more often low-income and…

Over the past decade, the federal government has made substantial efforts to simplify the college-going process and help students to evaluate college choices. These low-cost strategies aimed at improving college access and success by helping students to make informed decisions about college warrant assessment. This study examines the impact of a…

Since the publication of the "College Scorecard" by The U.S. Department of Education in 2015, comparisons between college attendance costs and institutional outcomes (i.e., graduation rates, post-graduation earnings) have come into sharp focus. This increased scrutiny requires institutions of higher learning to be more transparent about…

In the report, "Addressing Education Inequality with a Next Generation of Community Schools: A Blueprint for Mayors, States, and the Federal Government" (ED614128) the Brookings Institution's Task Force on Next Generation Community Schools recommends the transformation of U.S. schools into community schools. This executive summary of the…

During few times in America's history has leadership in education been more critical. Far too many communities continue to face the enduring impacts of systematic racism and generational poverty. The nation's schools have also been impacted by COVID-19 and, for many, the effects are staggering and could last for years. At the same time, as the…

The State of Higher Education for Black Californians is the first in the Campaign for College Opportunity's series of reports on the current state of college access and completion for California's Black; Latinx; and Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders. The state of higher education reports also discuss the implications of…

In 2002, No Child Left Behind ushered in sweeping changes in school accountability. Diverging from the federal government's long history of leaving this matter largely to the states, a Congress broadly dissatisfied with the slow pace of educational improvement stepped in with a new framework designed to set schools on a path to getting all…

For-profit colleges are some of the biggest critics of the federal graduation rate, arguing that it gives an inaccurate image of their institutions. They point out that the official calculation doesn't take into account the vast majority of the students who attend their institutions, most of whom are neither "first-time" nor "full-time." So major…

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…