Disparate findings on whether students attending charter schools outperform peers in traditional public schools (TPS) may stem from mixing differing types of charters or inadequately accounting for pupil background. To gauge prior family selection and heterogeneous effects, we distinguish between conversion and start-up charter schools, along with…

Background/Context: Studies that compare the achievement benefits of charter public schools versus traditional public schools (TPSs) yield quite uneven results. The quality and long-term commitment of teachers represent related mediators that may help to explain effective and ineffective charter schools. Early findings on the comparative rates of…

Attendance in preschool centers can yield short-term benefits for children from poor or middle-class families. Yet debate persists in Europe and the United States over whether centers yield gains of sufficient magnitude to sustain children's cognitive or social advantages as they move through primary school. We report on child care and home…

It has been known that quality preschool can boost children's early literacy and social agility, skills valued highly by employers. The returns to preschool appear to be stronger for Latino children, especially those from non-English speaking families, compared with other populations. But newly available data reveal that preschool enrollment…

This report examines how California's massive and ongoing investment in school construction could better advance the shared goals of school improvement, sustainable urban growth, and equal opportunity. This brief is organized in five parts. First, the authors sketch a "framework" for how smart growth principles could help guide school…

This report details how charter schools are increasingly run by private, nonprofit management organizations called charter school management organizations (CMOs). The researchers find that most CMOs serve urban students from low-income families, operate small schools that offer more instructional time, and attract teachers loyal to each school's…

Many children experience lasting benefits from attending quality preschools, evident in stronger pre-literacy and social skills at school entry. These gains are larger for children raised in low-income homes, as well as for Latino youngsters from middle-class homes. This is likely due to exposure to rich language and engaging learning tasks in…

Aiming to relieve overcrowded schools operating on multiple tracks, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) has invested more than $19 billion to build 130 new facilities over the past decade. District leaders asked researchers at Berkeley to estimate the achievement effects of this massive initiative--benefits that may stem from entering…

This paper examines the effects of different child-care arrangements on children's cognitive and social proficiencies at the start of kindergarten. Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, we identify effects using OLS, matching and instrumental variables estimates. Overall, center-based care raises reading and math scores, but has…

Parents and policymakers are turning to preschools to better advance the school readiness and broader development of young children. Much remains unknown, including how preschool programs of varying quality affect diverse groups of children. This is particularly important as several California counties embark on ambitious and costly efforts to…

Purpose: Newly designed schools for centuries have projected fresh ideals regarding how children should learn and how human settlements should be organized. But under what conditions can forward-looking architects or education reformers trump the institutionalized practices of teachers or the political-economic constraints found within urban…

The new call for a universal preschool system is prompting an important policy debate across California. How preschooling is expanded and improved with limited public resources depends on several key issues. The hopeful ideals of "preschool for all"--with children beginning school ready to learn--spark enthusiasm and broaden public will.…

Gaps in early learning are starkly apparent among differing children even before they enter kindergarten. So, a rising number of states are trying to narrow initial achievement disparities by expanding access to quality preschool. At the same time, recent findings show that preschool is not a lasting inoculation: its benefits fade if children move…

Previous research has demonstrated that attending center care is associated with cognitive benefits for young children. However, little is known about the ideal age for children to enter such care or the "right" amount of time, both weekly and yearly, for children to attend center programs. Using national data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal…