Four newly released peer-reviewed research studies show that using rigorous project-based learning in U.S. public schools has strong and positive effects on student outcomes across grades and subjects. Project-based learning (PBL) is an inquiry-based approach in which students explore real-world problems through individual and group projects. With PBL, students make sense of why content is useful and how it might be applied. These studies show the positive impact of project-based learning across content areas, grade levels, and for students from all types of backgrounds. The researchers found PBL improved student achievement in targeted content areas as well as in other subject areas and aspects of social and emotional learning. Taken together, these findings add strong evidence to the idea that students thrive when hands-on, inquiry-based learning is part of their educational experience and that rigorous PBL can be a lever for improving teaching and learning in U.S. schools.