Despite compelling evidence that master's degrees don't systematically make teachers more effective for their students, most US school districts provide a pay premium for them. They should stop, the sooner the better, and states should take the lead in pushing them to do so. Education dollars--whether COVID-19 relief funds or predictable annual…

A long overdue, much needed transformation is underway in the higher education system. It started a decade ago, when federal and state policy­makers first began to collect data on what students earn after pursuing a postsecondary education. But new data are fundamentally differ­ent. Unlike broad-based national statistics, such as how much someone…

Current accountability in higher education is primarily focused on equality--the application of the same metrics to all schools no matter whom they enroll. But an accountability system that judges schools only on former students' earnings outcomes will reward schools with certain demographic profiles over others--in the context of this report,…

Texas State Technical College (TSTC) single mission is graduating students who can go on to attain higher-paying jobs. The state's funding formula was specifically designed to hold TSTC accountable to accomplish this mission. Texas statute stipulates that TSTC will offer "courses of study in technical-vocational education for which there is…

Urban communities are typically remarkably diverse in residents' backgrounds, values, and views of the good life. The "community," then, is held together by a staggering number of relationships, compromises, habits, associations, and traditions that have been worked out over time. Dramatic change spurred by philanthropic initiatives can…

Despite a growing chorus among conservatives about the problem of politics in the classroom, those on the right have struggled to advance long-term solutions to it. Indeed, up to now, state lawmakers concerned about politics in the classroom have typically faced a binary choice. The following three options to protect students from radical politics…

The higher education system does not work well for taxpayers, students, or higher education institutions. Student loans were expected to be such a good deal for taxpayers that their projected revenues were used to offset costs associated with the Affordable Care Act and increasing the size of Pell Grants. Less than a decade ago, the federal…

The newly created Conservative Education Reform Network (CERN) at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) invited a group of conservative education thinkers to sketch policy proposals that they would like to see in a new education agenda. The only requirement was that they offer suggestions that would complement the traditional conservative…

As full-time virtual learning moved from the fringe to the mainstream in mid-March 2020, onlookers expressed concerns about access for learners and accountability for the learning itself. Concerns have not applied only to full-time virtual schools, however. Alternative schools that serve students who have dropped out or transferred from…

In education policy, conservatives have often been more identifiable by what they are against than what they are for. Ronald Reagan ran in 1980 promising to eliminate the Department of Education, and since then, numerous conservative politicians have stated they wish to do the same. At times, conservatives have been known to support school choice…

Education reformers have spent decades doggedly working to improve student outcomes in K-12 education by championing policies spanning federal, state, and local jurisdictions. Higher education is a much different story. Policy ideas at the federal level are plentiful; however, state- or institution-level policies are examined and implemented far…

The Southern Nevada Urban Micro Academy (SNUMA) is a first-of-its-kind partnership between the North Las Vegas city government and an innovation-focused education nonprofit to create microschools, operated entirely outside of incumbent public school systems and designed specifically as an in-person solution for city families to counter pandemic…

This report examines how media covered the critical race theory (CRT) debate in schooling through an analysis of all news articles published between September 2020 and August 2021 by four major newspapers (the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today) and three major education press outlets (Education Week, the 74, and…

A founding purpose of public education is to adequately prepare children for thoughtful self-government, citizenship, and independent adult life. This end is served by having educators teach students not what to think about controversial or contested public matters but how to think such issues through. When educators fail in this essential duty,…

Between 2020 and 2021, Congress appropriated nearly $190 billion in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding for K-12 schools. Passed in three waves, ESSER is by far the largest federal infusion ever provided to K-12 schools--more than 11 times annual Title I spending and almost five times as large as total federal K-12…