Connect for Kids / Child Advocacy 360 / Youth Policy Action Center - Weblinks, Education

10 Elements of a Successful High School

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 14:19:43 -0500

Drawing from the work of leading researchers and educators from around the country, the Alliance for Excellent Education has identified ten key elements that every high school should have in place to ensure that all its students are successful.

Exploring Quality Choices: Vouchers

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 11:38:27 -0500

This publication presents an in-depth look at Annie E. Casey Foundation's investment in the Washington, DC voucher
effort and summarizes results and lessons learned so far. It also includes stories about the

Creating Quality Choices: Charters

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 11:35:51 -0500

This publication provides an overview of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s investments in chartering along
with selected results and lessons learned. It also presents stories about two successful charter

Graduation Rates: Real Kids, Real Numbers

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 10:27:18 -0500

During the past year, we have repeatedly heard that the nation's public schools are facing a high school completion crisis. My research at the Urban Institute, for example, reveals an overall graduation rate of 68 percent.

Vibrant Neighborhoods, Successful Schools: What the Federal Government Can Do to Foster Both

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 08:52:29 -0500

Every parent recognizes the inextricable connections between where we live and the quality of our children's education. Although public policies have historically contributed to disparities in both neighborhood affordability and school quality, federal programs focused on affordable housing rarely take public schools into account and school officials typically assume that they have no influence over housing patterns.

The Narrowing Gap in New York City Teacher Qualifications and Implications for Student Achievement in High-Poverty Schools

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 15:18:48 -0500

This important research explores the effects of district policy interventions on the distribution of teacher qualifications and student achievement. Authors use a 5-year span of individual teacher- and student-level longitudinal data from New York City (NYC) from 2000 through 2005 to estimate the differences in the effectiveness of teachers entering NYC schools through different pathways to teaching.

Assessing the Potential of Using Value Added-Estimates of Teacher Job Performance for Making Tenure Decisions

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 15:12:59 -0500

Using individual teacher and student-level longitudinal data from North Carolina, this research brief presents selected findings from work examining the stability of value-added model estimates of teacher effectiveness, focusing on their implication for teacher tenure policies and making high stakes personnel decisions.

A Detailed Picture of Intergenerational Transmission of Human Capital

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 14:58:17 -0500

Using data from the Health and Retirement Study, we consider how parental education relates to four outcomes in the children's generation: education, lifetime earnings, health, and wealth. By focusing on parents' and children's ranks, we characterize relative mobility in terms of distributions of outcomes and can see patterns that even a relatively disaggregated analysis, like a quintile-based transition matrix, can obscure.

Promoting Economic Mobility By Increasing Postsecondary Education

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 14:28:34 -0500

A college education strongly affects whether or not children from poor or low-income families move up the economic ladder when they become adults. But they are less likely to enroll in either two- or four-year colleges, and less likely to complete a degree when they do, relative to those from middle- and upper-income families — even after accounting for differences in academic preparation.

Neighborhood Factors Influence Youth Participation in Programs

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 10:37:21 -0500

A new Child Trends brief finds that youth who have not participated in out-of-school time programs are significantly more likely than are their participating peers to live in an unsupportive neighborhood; to spend more than two hours a day watching TV or playing video games; and to have parents who are in poor health, who don't exercise, and who have less than a high school education.

Legislation to Increase Access to Adult Education

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 10:33:09 -0500

On July 16, 2009, Senators Jim Webb, Sherrod Brown, and Representatives Patrick Kennedy and Ruben Hinojosa introduced the "Adult Education and Economic Growth Act of 2009" ( S. 1468 and H.R. 3238). This legislation would invest in workforce development, education, and training to prepare adults to participate in the changing workforce.

Initiative Introduced to Raise Graduation Rates

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 10:20:28 -0500

On July 14, 2009, President Obama unveiled the American Graduation Initiative, a plan to raise graduation rates, improve facilities, and develop new technology. The plan would allow colleges to improve remedial and adult education programs and integrate developmental classes into academic and vocational classes and provide comprehensive personalized services to help students plan their careers and stay in school.

Small Kids, Big Words

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 15:33:30 -0500

It's never too early to start teaching children big words. Teachers at Lee Academy are teaching their pre-school students sophisticated words, sometimes exceeding the vocabulary level of college students.

Postsecondary Education Programs Benefit Working Adults

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 11:09:57 -0500

A new report from the Center for American Progress explores how policymakers can strengthen the nation's postsecondary education program to help working adults who need additional education to get ahead.

America 's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 16:05:32 -0500

A new report from the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics tracks 40 key indicators measuring children’s economic circumstances, health, physical environment and safety, family and social environment, behavior, and education.