Library

Reports: Student learning

A National Profile of Youth and Young Adults
Annie E. Casey Foundation, October 2024
Presents data related to more than 60 indicators on the health and well-being of young people ages 14 to 24, including employment, poverty, education, health, mental health, and family and community issues. Many of the indicators are available by race and ethnicity, and are also provided by state and, in some cases, by territory, city and congressional district. more info >

Kids Count Data Book: State Trends in Child Well-Being
Annie E. Casey Foundation, July 2024, 54 pp.
This annual report provides data on 10 indicators of child well-being, by state and for the U.S. States are ranked on each indicator and compared to previous years. more info >

State of Black America
National Urban League, June 2024
Annual report from the National Urban League. The most recent report focuses on the impact of the 1964 Civil Rights, and includes measures related income, education, health, civic engagement, housing, transportation, and public safety for Hispanic, Black, and White populations. Includes metropolitan area rankings of unemployment and income equality. more info >

Responding, Reimagining, Realizing Out-of-School Time Coordination in a New Era
Wallace Foundation, June 2024, 72 pp.
This report examines how OST organizations address the heightened needs of children and their families during the pandemic to ensure continuity of services and discusses how they could continue this expanded role related to adaptation, advocacy, partnerships, and equity. more info >

The Condition of Education 2024
National Center for Education Statistics, May 2024, 46 pp.
Annual report that summarizes trends in education. Indicators include educational attainment, earnings and unemployment rates by educational attainment, families living in poverty, early childhood education participation, English language learners, children and youth with disabilities, and postsecondary enrollment. more info >

The Decisive Decade: Understanding the Trajectories of 14- to 24-year-olds
Brookings Institution, April 2024
This report provides a snapshot of how young adults age 14-24 are faring in regard to health, family, education, and work outcomes, highlighting the need for continued investment in resources that can enable or impede their progress. It identifies key indicators of success and areas of disparities to inform policy efforts aimed at improve young adults' opportunities. more info >

A National Scan of Policies, Practices, and Systems Affecting Young People
MDRC, April 2024, 145 pp.
This evidence-focused scan looks at the landscape of programs and practices relevant to young people who are most disconnected from education, training, or employment opportunities in their communities due to obstacles related to poverty, racial inequality, or system navigation. more info >

Race for Results: Building a Pathway to Opportunity for All Children
The Annie E. Casey Foundation, January 2024, 51 pp.
This report uses the Race for Results Index, a collection of data presented by racial and ethnic groups and by state, to examine progress and disparities related to child and youth wellbeing. Indicators address early childhood, academic achievement, teen parenting, higher education, and family characteristics. more info >

The State of America's Children
Children's Defense Fund, December 2023, 86 pp.
A compilation of national and state-by-state data on poverty, health, child welfare, youth at risk, early childhood development, education, nutrition and housing. Report is compiled annually. more info >

Why Rural Matters: Centering Equity and Opportunity
The Rural School and Community Trust, December 2023, 152 pp.
Biennial reports analyzing the contexts and conditions of rural education in each of the 50 states and calling attention to the need for policymakers to address rural education issues in their respective states. more info >

Rural Inclusive Education for Students with Disabilities in the United States: A Narrative Review of Research
The Rural Educator, January 2023, 17 pp.
This paper presents findings from a narrative literature analysis of inclusive education for students with disabilities in rural schools located in the United States, examining special education practices in rural schools and describing how the diverse qualities and contexts of rural schools contribute to inclusive education practices. more info >

Integrated Student Supports in Schools May Boost Lifetime Incomes for Students in Families with Low Incomes
Child Trends, December 2022, 1 pp.
“Soft skills” are important for human capital development and workforce success. Nevertheless, a soft skills “gap” is noted by many employers. This white paper recommends a research-based set of key soft skills that increase the chance that youth ages 15–29 will be successful in the workforce. more info >

Integrated Student Supports in Schools May Boost Lifetime Incomes for Students in Families with Low Incomes
Child Trends, December 2022
Integrated student supports (ISS) are an approach by schools to address students’ barriers to being fully engaged and learning in school. This study uses the Social Genome Model to examine potential later-in-life outcomes that result from earlier interventions, finding that children in families experiencing low incomes who experience an ISS educational model in school have larger lifetime incomes more info >

Housing Mobility Programs in the U.S. 2022
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, December 2022, 64 pp.
This report discusses 28 housing mobility programs around the country, nine of them recently established as part of HUD's Community Choice Demonstration project. Housing mobility programs help families, specifically those with young children, find housing in high-opportunity, low-poverty neighborhoods. more info >

Preparing Young Children for School
Institute of Education Sciences, August 2022, 187 pp.
This practice guide, developed in conjunction with an expert panel, distills contemporary early childhood and preschool education research into seven easily comprehensible and practical recommendations. The guidance will help to prepare young children to benefit from the learning opportunities they will encounter in school. more info >

Student achievement gaps and the pandemic: A new review of evidence from 2021–2022
Center for Reinventing Public Education, August 2022, 16 pp.
This report is one of a series examining evidence on the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on students’ academic progress, mental health and social-emotional well-being. This report focuses on student academics. more info >

Early Childhood Learning and Children's Literacy Skills in Kindergarten and Third Grade
Crane Center For Early Childhood Research and Policy, July 2022, 16 pp.
Describes five policy actions that governors can take to ensure all children read at grade level by the end of third grade. more info >

How Does Housing Affect Children's Education?
Habitat for Humanity, December 2021, 10 pp.
Examines the relationships between housing and education outcomes for low-income children, and highlights barriers to improving children's outcomes. more info >

Reviewing the Research Base from 1985-2020: Infant and Toddler Child Care and At-Risk Children’s School Readiness
University of Virginia, July 2021, 64 pp.
This report reviews research on infant and toddler child care conducted since roughly 1985, looking particularly at studies highlighting the roles subsidized care, child care quality, and different programmatic inputs can play in supporting the school readiness of young children considered to be at-risk for poor developmental outcomes. more info >

Long-Term Impacts of KIPP Middle Schools on College Enrollment and Early College Persistence
Mathematica Policy Research, September 2019, 52 pp.
The Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) is a network of public charter schools whose mission is to improve the education of low-income children. This is the fifth report from a multi-year study of KIPP middle schools. more info >

Investing in Successful Summer Programs A Review of Evidence Under the Every Student Succeeds Act
RAND Corporation, June 2019, 163 pp.
This report provides a systematic review of the evidence supporting summer programs and descriptions of evidence-based programs and guidance regarding the effectiveness of summer interventions. more info >

Lessons for Employer-School Partnerships to Provide Meaningful Youth Employment Opportunities
Child Trends, June 2019, 6 pp.
Examines an initiative to promote career- and college-readiness among high school students and improve student outcomes. This brief focuses on lessons learned in providing students with real work experiences and exploring the role that employer partners play in implementation. more info >

Preparing the Future Workforce: Early Care and Education Participation among Children of Immigrants
The Urban Institute, March 2019, 38 pp.
Children of immigrants will make up a critical share of our nation’s future workforce but are less likely than other children to participate in early education programs known to support school readiness and long-term productivity. This study describes the characteristics and enrollment of children of immigrants in early education programs. more info >

Universal Approaches to Promoting Healthy Development: The Future of Children Spring 2019
The Brookings Institution and Princeton University, March 2019, 270 pp.
Includes a variety of articles that look at how society can best support parents, beginning early in their children's lives, describing several ways that local communities have tried to provide such support by implementing new interventions, reforming existing systems of care, and improving the coordination and planning of services. more info >

Status and Trends in the Education of Racial and Ethnic Groups 2018
National Center for Education Statistics, February 2019, 228 pp.
This report profiles current conditions and recent trends in the education of students by racial and ethnic group. It presents a selection of indicators that examine differences in educational participation and attainment of students. These report summarizes data on topics such as demographics; student achievement and outcomes of education. more info >

Helping Children and Parents Succeed Together: An Update on the Dunbar Learning Complex
Annie E. Casey Foundation, October 2017, 24 pp.
This report discusses the Dunbar Learning Complex, a two-generation model which aims to create opportunities for low-income families to succeed. Early assessments show positive results, especially in preparing young children for kindergarten and in making sure their health needs are met. more info >

Chronic Absenteeism: An Old Problem in Search of New Answers
Brookings Institution, July 2017
Chronic school absenteeism is associated with a host of adverse academic outcomes. This report reviews what is known about the causes, consequences, and potential solutions for chronic absenteeism. more info >

Arts-Based Programs and Art Therapies for At-Risk, Justice-Involved, and Traumatized Youths
National Endowment for the Arts, U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention, February 2016, 9 pp.
This report focuses programs and art therapies for at-risk, justice-involved, and traumatized youths, exploring recent research on arts-based programs and arts therapies. Programs were considered arts-based if at least one of the main components was an arts-related activity, or if there was a deliberate use of arts in the program to bring about a change in behavior. more info >

Educational Equity: What Does it Mean? How Do We Know When We Reach It?
Center for Public Education, January 2016, 10 pp.
This report provides a brief overview of educational equity and reviews data on students served by public schools. It then describes the areas in an equity agenda that research shows will have the greatest impact on student outcomes: funding, curriculum, teachers and discipline policies as a starting point for school system and community conversations. more info >

Discretion and Disproportionality: Explaining the Underrepresentation of High-Achieving Students of Color in Gifted Programs
American Educational Research Association, January 2016, 25 pp.
Students of color are underrepresented in gifted programs relative to White students, but the reasons for this underrepresentation are poorly understood. This report investigate the predictors of gifted assignment using nationally representative, longitudinal data on elementary students. more info >

Full-day Kindergarten Helps Close the Achievement Gaps
National Education Association, July 2015, 4 pp.
Offers support for full-day kindergarten as a way to increase learning and close the achievement gap. more info >

The School Discipline Consensus Report: Strategies from the Field to Keep Students Engaged in School and Out of the Juvenile Justice System
The Council of State Governments Justice Center, June 2014, 461 pp.
Based on input from an array of stakeholders, this report presents policies, recommendations, and promising practices to keep students in school and out of the court system. Major sections of the report address the conditions for learning, behavioral interventions, and school-police partnerships. more info >

The Educational Value of Field Trips
Education Next, September 2013, 9 pp.
This study reports on the first large-scale, randomized-control trial measuring the educational value of school field trips. It suggests that even a single visit to an art museum has positive lasting effects, particularly among students in rural or high-poverty schools who may lack regular exposure to culturally enriching experiences. more info >

Growing Young Minds: How Museums and Libraries Create Lifelong Learners
Institute of Museum and Library Services, June 2013, 52 pp.
This report promotes the inclusion of libraries and museums as early learning resources and partners in creating comprehensive early learning strategies. more info >

The Arts and Achievement in At-Risk Youth: Findings from Four Longitudnal Studies
National Endowment for the Arts, March 2012, 28 pp.
This report examines the academic and civic behavior outcomes of teenagers and young adults who have engaged deeply with the arts in or out of school. Results show that students of low socioeconomic status who have a history of in-depth arts involvement show better academic outcomes than do low-SES youth who have less arts involvement, earning better grades and demonstrating higher rates of college enrollment and attainment. more info >

Web sites

Advancing Mobility from Poverty: A Toolkit for Housing and Education Partnerships
This toolkit is intended as a resource to build and advance cross-sector partnerships to accelerate the achievement of shared outcomes related to housing, education, and economic stability for families. more info >

Making ESSA's Equity Promise Real: State Strategies to Close the Opportunity Gap
Students of color and other historically underserved students have had less access to an equitable and supportive learning environments, perpetuating school failure.This report shows how states are taking advantage of opportunities in the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) to address disparities, make schools more inclusive, and help students succeed. more info >

Education Policy Research
Education section of Mathematica Policy Research. Provides research information about topics including curriculum, teacher quality, at-risk youth, technology and school choice. more info >

National Assessment of Educational Progress: The Nation's Report Card
A nationally representative and continuing assessment of what America's students know and can do in various subject areas. Data are available by state and some major cities. more info >

Education Commission of the States
Educational information covering early learning, K-12, and postsecondary. The issue sites include summaries of the facts, what states are doing, programs and practice, and sources of additional information on topics such as school readiness, assessment, at-risk students, charter schools, child abuse, educational attainment, mentoring, teaching, and many more. more info >

ERIC Database (Education Resources Information Center)
Database of education research. more info >

WestEd
Nonprofit research organization focusing on education. more info >

MDRC
A social policy research organization that works to improve the well-being of low-income people. Many reports are available on-line. more info >

Economic Policy Institute
Focuses on the economic condition of low- and middle-income Americans and their families. Includes issue guides on the following topics: living wage, minimum wage, poverty and family budgets, retirement security, Social Security, unemployment insurance, and welfare. more info >

Social Programs That Work
This site summarizes the findings from well-designed randomized controlled trials. It includes programs in the areas of early childhood, education, substance abuse and treatment, mental health, crime and violence prevention, employment and welfare, and more. more info >

What Works Clearinghouse
A collection of easily accessible databases and reports that provide reviews and information about the effectiveness of replicable educational programs, practices, and policies. more info >

Prosperity Now Scorecard
Ranks the 50 states and the District of Columbia on performance measures in the areas of Financial Security, Business Development, Homeownership, Health Care and Education. more info >

diversitydatakids.org
Presents measures of child wellbeing and policy analysis for states, counties, large cities, and metropolitan areas. more info >