A recent Common Sense Institute report addresses two important policy questions about Arizona's ESA program. First, how much will the ESA program cost in the upcoming year? Second, what are the characteristics of ESA users by household income and race/ethnicity? The report concludes that the ESA program is "essentially fully subscribed,"…

A recent FutureEd report, "Directional Signals: A New Analysis of the Evolving Private School Choice Landscape," offers a generally useful, up-to-date compilation of basic facts and trends around universal school choice programs in 10 states. These universal programs, including vouchers and education savings accounts, subsidize private…

EdTrust recently published a report using an "equity analysis" to critique states' accountability plans, recommending several steps states might take to improve their systems. Despite the language of "equity" and attention to "asset-based" framings of educational data, the vision of what high-quality accountability…

Emerging regulations require higher education financial aid staff to handle many tasks. Complying with these regulations and participating in mandated compliance audits are complex processes that require numerous departments to work in concert. This article discusses what steps colleges and universities can take to improve their compliance audits.…

A recent report from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute offers an up-to-date national description of the current picture of policies and practices at the district level designed to provide what the report calls advanced and gifted education. The report is based on data from a survey conducted in 2023. Its stated goal is to provide a better…

In recent years, entrepreneurship and innovation have become important topics in academia. In 2016, they were made a compulsory joint course subject for general education or college students in the UAE higher education system. However, this viewpoint article suggests that entrepreneurship and innovation should be an integral component of each…

The report of the national response to intervention (RTI) evaluation study, conducted during 2011-2012, was released in November 2015. Anyone who has read the lengthy report can attest to its complexity and the design used in the study. Both these factors can influence the interpretation of the results from this evaluation. In this commentary, we…

College life is an exciting time for thousands of emerging adults on campuses across the nation. It is also an opportunity for students to engage in behaviors that can impede personal health. Numerous studies link personal health and wellness to academic achievement.1-3 The core mission of most institutions of higher education (IHEs) is academic…

This response aims to critically evaluate the methodology and aims of the meta-analytic review written by Maggin and Johnson (2014). The present authors systematically provide responses for each of the original criticisms and highlight concerns regarding Maggin and Johnson's methodology, while objectively describing the current state of evidence…

In critiquing our paper on "The literacy performance of ex-Reading Recovery students between two and four years following participation in the program: Is this intervention effective for students with early reading difficulties?", Schwartz argues that we have engaged in pursuing political and ideological agendas as part of our ongoing…

The Robert Bowne Foundation (RBF), which published "Afterschool Matters" from 2003 to 2008 and continues to fund the journal and related projects, is closing in December. "Afterschool Matters" sat down with Lena Townsend, executive director, to talk about RBF's legacy and continuing influence on literacy work in afterschool…

The Forum on Education Abroad's Ninth Annual Conference in 2013 was organized around the provocative theme, "Moving Beyond It Was Great." In the opening plenary speech, Lilli Engle warned the audience of study abroad researchers, leaders, administrators, and providers that study abroad programs were not as effective as they may want to…

In their article, "The Common Core is a Change for the Better," Gardner and Powell (2013) make an argument in support of implementing the Common Core to improve teaching and student learning. They opine the Common Core will enable students to become more college and career ready and state the Common Core standards will provide…

On September 17, 2013 (Constitution Day), the C3 Framework was released under the title "The College, Career and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards: Guidance for Enhancing the Rigor of K-12 Civics, Economics, Geography, and History." The C3 Project Director and lead writer was NCSS member Kathy Swan, who is…

Since 2003, the Oral History Project Team has conducted interviews with individuals who have made particularly noteworthy contributions to the theory and practice of evaluation. In 2013, Mel Mark, Valerie Caracelli, and Miles McNall sat with Thomas Cook in Washington, D.C., during the American Evaluation Association (AEA) annual conference. The…