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. This paper focuses on four principles regarding the vitality and performance of schools and communities, discussing opportunities for constructive policy interventions, summarizing what we know about their likely effectiveness, and recommending next steps for the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Education.

Education Secretary Duncan is outlining priorities for the "Race to the Top" Fund. Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, states must offer assurances that they are making progress in adopting rigorous standards; recruiting and retaining effective teachers where they are needed most; turning around low-performing schools; and building data systems to track student achievement and teacher effectiveness.

This three-year longitudinal study found an increase in academic achievement and positive youth development for participants in the program over nonparticipants. On February 20, 2009 the American Youth Policy Forum will explore what makes the Childrens Aid approach distinctive.

The Brookings Institution is calling on the federal government to "change the game" in public education by creating a federal Office of Educational Entrepreneurship and Innovation in the Department of Education. The authors cite the achievement gap between poor and minority students and their more affluent peers, along with findings that US 15-year-olds perform worse than students in 23 countries in math and behind 11 countries in reading.

In February 2008, about 200 teens gathered to discuss the school dropout rate in New York City, covering such factors as peer pressure, lack of support from parents, schools and the community, barriers for immigrants and gender inequities. The Children's Aid Society has posted recommendations from the conference on its Website.

As Congress considers how to reauthorize the No Child Left Behind Act—set to expire in September—many organizations and agencies are weighing in on its successes and shortcomings. This article, by Children’s Advocate writer Kelly Virella, lays out the differing arguments in several areas.

According to the Council of the Great City Schools' annual Beating the Odds report, fourth and eighth graders are doing better in reading and math, both on state standardized tests and the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP). The report compared test scores from 2002 through 2005 in 66 urban districts. While urban school achievement remains below national averages in math, the percentage of fourth and eighth graders in these schools who scored at or above proficient levels has risen each year since 2002. Reading achievement is also improving in urban schools, particularly among fourth graders: 54.4 percent of urban fourth graders scored at or above proficient level in reading, up more than 11 percentage points from 2002. In addition, race-based achievement gaps appear to be narrowing in reading and math.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) test (often called Our Nation's Report Card) ranks states based on student achievement on standardized tests. But it doesn't take into account student poverty rates, which are correlated with performance. A new Standard & Poor's report adjusts NAEP scores by poverty levels and finds that some persistently low-performing states—like Oklahoma and Louisiana—actually scored above average when student poverty rates are taken into account. The report is designed to help states more accurately assess what's working and what's not, for their populations.

CFK reports from: Black Education: A Transformative Research and Action Agenda for the New Century
Event: A book forum and media briefing
Organized by: American Educational Research Association
Where/When: National Press Club, Washington DC, Thursday, October 20, 2005

Prof. Carol D. Lee of Northwestern University started off by discussing how research perspectives can distort our understanding of black student achievement and competence. Too often, said Lee, black experience is perceived as "a deficit that educators have to overcome."

For 10 years, an extraordinary volunteer effort has taken aim at the troubling racial achievement gap in Madison, Wisconsin public schools. Leslie Huber reports on how the Schools of Hope Literacy Project has helped low-income minority students achieve.