This report responds to the legislative requirement of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (P.L.110-246) to assess the effectiveness of State and local efforts to directly certify children for free school meals under the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). Direct certification is a process conducted by the States and by local…

This report responds to the legislative requirement of Public Law 110-246 to assess the effectiveness of State and local efforts to directly certify children for free school meals. Under direct certification, children are determined eligible for free school meals without the need for household applications by using data from other means-tested…

This year, more students are applying and qualifying for need-based financial aid and more financial aid offices are being asked to reassess financial aid packages to reflect recent changes to families' financial situations, according to a recent survey by the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. "This survey…

President Obama's 2010 budget proposals include exciting news for those concerned with increasing educational opportunities. The urgency of the economic crisis and the clear commitment of the administration and Congress to make college more affordable provide the perfect opportunity for those in higher education to update their approach to…

In this article, we examine the contribution of initial skill and slope of progress on alphabetic principle to end of first-grade reading outcomes. Initial skill and slope were measured using DIBELS Nonsense Word Fluency. Reading outcomes were measured at the end of first grade with DIBELS Oral Reading Fluency. Students in Oregon Reading First…

School principals play an important role concerning technology use within their schools. While school districts across the nation are spending considerable resources in order to provide technical infrastructure to teachers and students, questions remain concerning the priority principals place in how teachers and students use technology within the…

Policymakers and educators are increasingly expressing concerns that the U.S. is lagging behind other countries in educating the next generation of mathematicians and scientists. In response, the federal government, private foundations, and many "institutions of higher education" (IHEs) are encouraging STEM (science, technology,…

Parents may have important effects on their children, but little work in economics explores whether children's schooling opportunities crowd out or encourage parents' investment in children. We analyze data from the Head Start Impact Study, which granted randomly-chosen preschool-aged children the opportunity to attend Head Start. We find that…

Underserved and underrepresented students consistently leave science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degree fields to pursue less demanding majors. This perpetual problem slowed the growth in STEM degree fields (United States Department of Labor, 2007). Declining enrollment in STEM degree fields among underserved and…

This Quick Reference Document has been prepared by the Regional Resource Center Program ARRA/Fiscal Priority Team to aid RRCP State Liaisons and other (Technical Assistance) TA providers in understanding the general context of state questions surrounding excess cost. As a "first-stop" for TA providers in investigating excess cost…

School funding has become an increasingly volatile issue in Florida and nationwide over the past year. In 2011, the state of Florida cut $1.4 billion from public education as part of an effort to balance the budget during an economic downturn without increasing tax revenues. In Duval County, that translated to a $91 million shortfall and several…

Educational reform in the United States has focused on several factors such as academic achievement, performance on standardized test scores, dropout rates, the mandate of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 (Dee and Jacob, 2010) and other changes. A new call for a broader and bolder strategy for educational reform that focused on…

Research on the nature of and support for systemic sustainable innovation with ICT is converging with research on policy implementation and studies of school change and improvement to highlight the complex interplay of personal and contextual factors that enable and constrain innovation. In each of these fields, leadership has been found to play a…

Enacted in 1997, the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) represented the largest expansion of U.S. public health care coverage since the passage of Medicare and Medicaid 32 years earlier. Although the program has recently been reauthorized, there remains a considerable lack of thorough and well-designed evaluations of the program. In…

The annual report reviews research priorities, major Institute of Education Sciences (IES) updates, and recent resolutions. National Board for Education Sciences (NBES) members conclude that evidence-based research provides essential information to policymakers, educators, and parents for improving education and meeting the academic needs of…