Search

This report summarizes the fiscal effects of education choice programs across the United States from an analysis of 48 private education choice programs in 25 states plus D.C. The programs in the analysis include five education savings account programs, 22 school voucher programs, and 21 tax credit scholarship programs. This study estimates the combined net fiscal effects of each education choice program on state and local taxpayers through fiscal year (FY) 2022--in both the short run and the long run. It uses short-run and long-run variable cost estimates to generate lower bounds and upper bounds of the fiscal effects of education choice program on taxpayers through FY 2022. This report does not include any universal education choice programs in the main analysis because it uses federal data that were available for years before any universal programs launched. The report also provides context by presenting information about the size and scope of each program, in terms of participation and funding, relative to each state's public school system and state budgets. It presents information on taxpayer funding disparities between students using the choice programs and their peers in public schools.

This chartbook is the 14th version to be produced for the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) by the Population Reference Bureau (PRB). The Chartbook describes the diversity of the Appalachian Region on a host of demographic and economic measures and provides an important annual view of the area and its people. The data contained in the 2018-2022 Chartbook describe how residents in the Appalachian Region were faring before and during the COVID-19 pandemic that began in March 2020. Nearly half of the years during this time period were pre-pandemic and half were during the pandemic era. Thus, this Chartbook is a blend of these two eras. As future data releases reflect the post-pandemic era, data users will have additional insights on the long-term changes that the pandemic brought to Appalachia's social and economic dynamics. Most of the data shown here come from the 2018-2022 American Community Survey (ACS), a nationwide study collected continuously every year in every county in the United States by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ACS is designed to provide communities with reliable and timely demographic, social, economic, and housing data each year. To provide as much county-level data as possible, we use ACS 5-year data files which provide reliable estimates for geographic areas with fewer than 20,000 people. Since many counties in the Appalachian Region have fewer than 20,000 residents, these data permit comparable statistics for all 423 counties in the Region. The primary purpose of the ACS is to measure the changing characteristics of the U.S. population in a way that is continually updated. The estimates in this Chartbook, therefore, are data collected over the five-year (or 60-month) period from January 2018 through December 2022. These ACS estimates are not averages of monthly or annual values, but rather an aggregation of data collected continuously over that time period.

More than 427,000 undocumented students are enrolled in U.S. higher education institutions. That's an impressive number, considering the many hurdles they must overcome on the road to college and a degree, including restrictions on their ability to enroll in higher education institutions; limits on access to in-state tuition, state financial aid, professional and commercial licenses, driver's licenses, state health care, and food and housing assistance; and difficulties obtaining work authorization and employment -- not to mention the threat of deportation they are under. Providing equitable higher education access for undocumented students means making college accessible and affordable for them. But it also means acknowledging the unique challenges they face because of their immigration status and ensuring that they get the additional supports they need. Researchers from The Education Trust analyzed 9 criteria in the 15 states with the largest shares of undocumented college students -- Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and Washington -- to determine whether state policies are helping or hurting undocumented students' ability to attend college and how access and success for this underserved student population could be improved. [This report was supported by the Presidents' Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, FWD.us, and United We Dream.]

The American Community Survey (ACS), a nationwide study collected continuously every year in every county in the United States, is designed to provide communities with reliable and timely demographic, social, economic, and housing data each year. These ACS estimates are not averages of monthly or annual values, but rather an aggregation of data collected over the five-year period. The data contained in this Chartbook describe how residents in the Appalachian Region were faring before and during the initial 10 months of the COVID-19 pandemic that began in March 2020. As such, these numbers do not measure the social and economic impact of the outbreak beyond 2020. As data from the pandemic and post-pandemic period are released in the coming years, these figures can serve as a point of comparison that ultimately can enable data users to better measure the pandemic's effect on Appalachia's social and economic dynamics. [For the 2015-2019 Chartbook, see ED613609.]

Background & Context: Accurate, reliable, and scalable measurement of classroom quality is critical to ensure that children benefit from early childhood programs. Early childhood classroom quality is most commonly measured using classroom observation tools serving multiple purposes including (1) teacher support (e.g., coaching, professional development), (2) accountability systems (e.g., quality rating and improvement systems), and (3) education research. Education policymakers have expressed interest in using video technology to improve the accuracy, usefulness, and reduce the costs of classroom observations (Curby et al., 2016; Kane et al., 2020). The use of video recordings might provide classroom teachers with greater agency in the timing of observations and opportunities to review the results (Teachstone & Intentional Futures, 2023). Video might also enable researchers to better understand how early educational experiences differ for racially, culturally, and linguistically minoritized learners (Meek et al., 2022). Although some prior research has documented the comparability of classroom observations in homogenous contexts (Curby et al., 2016), little is known about the reliability of video-based observations in the wider range of publicly funded preschool classrooms, nor the extent to which they may feasibly be implemented to support teacher coaching, improve accountability systems, and provide data on classrooms. Objective: We address this gap by examining the reliability of scores from video based and live observations of early childhood classrooms. We do this with two observation tools commonly used in early childhood settings: the Classroom Assessment Scoring System PreK-3rd (CLASS 2nd edition; Pianta & Hamre, 2022) and the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scales (ECERS-3; Harms et al., 2014). We address three research questions: (1) Do live and video observations, respectively, have sufficient inter-rater reliability (IRR) within-condition?; (2) Do live and video observations have sufficient between-condition IRR (i.e., do observers assign similar ratings to the same observation period scored on video and live)?; and (3) Do scores on domains/subscales and dimensions/items vary systematically across live and video-based coders? Additionally, we will address exploratory questions about the feasibility of video-based classroom observations using data from teacher surveys and interviews with teachers and program leaders. Setting: The study team conducted observations in preschool programs in Washington DC, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Virginia, including public pre-K, public charter schools, community-based childcare centers, faith-based programs, and cooperative nursery schools. Participants: The sample includes 100 CLASS and 60 ECERS observations. Most participating lead teachers (88%) identified as women; 6% identify as Asian, 26% identify as Black, 16% identify as Hispanic/Latine, 42% identify as White, and 6% identify as multiracial. Most teachers (77%) had at least a B.A. Years of teaching experience ranged from 1 to 45 years. Practice: This study focuses on identifying whether the practice of conducting classroom observations via video is reliable, feasible, and useful to support teacher professional development, accountability systems, and research. We include a tool focused on process quality (CLASS) and a tool that includes both process and structural quality (ECERS-3). Research Design: This mixed-methods study (preregistered at https://osf.io/hy638) includes psychometric analyses of reliability and differential item functioning, descriptive analysis of teacher survey data, and thematic analysis using inductive coding methods to synthesize findings across qualitative teacher and program leader interviews. Data Collection and Analysis: Certified CLASS 2nd edition and ECERS-3 observers conducted observations live while simultaneously recording the classroom to be coded later by a different certified observer. Videos were recorded using a stationary recording device that rotated to track the lead teacher's movements and microphones worn by teachers and observers. Following the observation, all lead teachers were invited to complete a survey about the observation experience and the usefulness, burden, and perceived accuracy of observations. Selected teachers and program directors were also invited to participate in interviews. To understand whether live and video observations produce reliable and equivalent ratings, we first calculated within-condition IRR separately for live and video observations. Second, we assessed IRR between conditions by calculating agreement where the live and video observations, respectively, are considered different raters. Third, we used multivariate regression models to predict scores from condition, controlling for observer to account for the fact that observers were not randomly distributed across live and video observations. To provide insights on exploratory questions about feasibility, we will incorporate descriptive statistics from teacher surveys and use inductive coding methods to identify themes from the teacher and program leader interviews. Preliminary Results: Preliminary results indicate that video-based scoring of the CLASS has sufficient within-condition IRR (88%, above the standard cut-off of 80%; Landis & Koch, 1977). Additionally, observers have sufficient between-condition IRR, as preliminary results indicate 89% percent-within-one agreement between live and video raters of the same observation. Yet despite these levels of reliability, scores reflected somewhat higher quality teaching for live observations than video across several dimensions of the CLASS (Figure 1). As such, preliminary evidence indicates that despite meeting reliability standards, using video observations interchangeably with live scores or in comparison to quality cut-offs based on live scores may disadvantage classrooms observed via video. Next steps for analysis include (1) re-estimating analyses on the final sample; (2) replicating the analyses for the CLASS with the ECERS; and (3) conducting descriptive and thematic analysis of survey and interview data. Conclusions: Understanding the reliability, feasibility, and utility of video-based classroom observations is essential as the educational landscape integrates increasingly advanced technology into professional development, accountability, and research. Preliminary findings highlight how evidence of the effectiveness of new technologies in education should be considered with insights from practitioners and in light of the distinct use case scenarios. For example, results suggest video-based CLASS observations have sufficient reliability and as such, may be useful for instructional coaching. However, the systematic differences in scores across live and video observations suggests that, if used in high-stakes accountability settings such as QRIS, programs or teachers scored on video may be disadvantaged compared to those scored live. While the results of this study focus on current use cases, results have implications for scenarios that education researchers and practitioners may encounter in the future.

This report, the first in the Economic Vitality and Education in the South (EVES) series, provides state-by-state information on more than 20 critical data points associated with the education-to-workforce pipeline. The report looks specifically at the 17 states in the Southern Education Foundation (SEF) region: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. It explores persistent and historic outcome gaps for Black, Hispanic, and low-income Americans and discusses how inequities in the education system and the labor force--due to these persistent gaps--are often more pronounced in the South.

Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont and Education Commissioner Charlene Russell-Tucker announced the expansion of the northeastern reciprocity agreement to include certified educators throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and beyond. As of April 21, 2022, "educators in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia who hold an 'active, valid certificate' may apply and obtain a Connecticut certificate after verification by the State Department of Education," according to a press release. To help further inform the Connecticut State Department of Education's (CSDE) recommendation that the State Board of Education adopt the enhanced reciprocity policy, the Region 2 Comprehensive Center (R2CC) developed the "Teacher Certification Reciprocity Tool," which compares certification requirements among the identified states and territories. The tool also significantly reduces the time required for CSDE analysts to approve out-of-state candidates for certification.

While COVID-19 is capable of infecting anyone, the level of risk is far from equal. Data show that Black and Latino communities, already suffering from deep-rooted economic and health inequalities, have borne the brunt of the pandemic. Latinas, in particular, have suffered some of the most egregious economic and health disparities over the past year. Latinas were already saddled with significant disadvantages pre-pandemic; they had lower wages, higher levels of poverty and were the least likely to have access to health care compared to other demographic groups. COVID-19 compounded these inequities, and the outcomes for Latinas have been devastating. This report surveys the economic, health and social impact of COVID-19 on Latinas from data gathered through 41 interviews. Latinas interviewed lived in states with significant Latino populations, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, New York, Texas and Virginia.

When schools closed their doors in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a scramble to adjust to remote learning. Over the summer and into the fall, the debate over reopening took center stage, as school leaders struggled to answer how and when it would be safe to return to the classroom. The Center for American Progress (CAP) has been tracking key trends during remote learning and school reopening efforts across the United States. CAP has also applied a racial equity lens to understand how different communities, educators, and students have been affected by these trends. As districts and schools plan for the upcoming school year and life after the pandemic, these trends can help inform best practices to apply and pitfalls to avoid. It is important to note that because most decisions around responding to the pandemic and reopening schools were left to districts and schools, national, and even state-level, data are limited. As such, looking at trends and individual examples is one of the most effective ways to understand what has been happening in education during the past year.

The school reopening debate has reached an inflection point as districts weigh both the safety and learning implications of returning to in-person education this fall. Challenges with transitioning to distance learning during the spring made it clear that teachers, parents and students needed more and different resources to make supportive, developmentally-appropriate distance learning accessible for all students during this crisis. The Southern Education Foundation (SEF) first sought to understand how districts were meeting the needs of their most vulnerable students and published the issue brief, "Distance Learning during COVID-19: 7 Equity Considerations for Schools and Districts" (ED605744). They then looked at 48 districts across 20 states and developed the Distance Learning Equity Dashboard (DLED) to track, across 20 indicators, how districts were providing academic, social-emotional and other wraparound support to students, as well as how they were supporting teachers and parents in navigating the transition to distance learning. They found that districts were taking thoughtful steps toward expanding distance learning supports; however, reopening plans varied in their attention to teachers' needs. Research has shown that teachers become more effective when they have collegial, supportive work environments with opportunities for peer collaboration, professional learning, and meaningful coaching and mentorship. These factors also play a role in teachers' decisions to stay in or leave the profession. SEF sought to understand the extent to which reopening plans addressed these factors and identified five key ways schools and districts can support teachers as they head into the next school year. This brief provides recommendations for state and local policymakers and administrators to consider to help teachers show up this school year as the healthy, skilled, well-resourced professionals students need in this critical moment.

This report presents state- and county-level data for the Appalachian Region. The 12 chapters focus on: (1) Population Basics; (2) Age; (3) Race and Hispanic Origin; (4) Housing Occupancy, Tenure, and Type; (5) Education, Device Ownership, and Internet Access; (6) Labor Force, Employment, and Unemployment; (7) Transportation and Commuting Patterns; (8) Income and Poverty (9) Health and Insurance Coverage; (10) Disability Status; (11) Migration; and (12) Veteran Status. Most of the data come from the 2015-2019 American Community Survey. This year's Chartbook includes two appendices. Appendix A uses selected demographic and socioeconomic measures to provide an overview comparing rural Appalachia (defined here as nonmetropolitan counties not adjacent to any metropolitan area) to rural areas outside the Appalachian Region. (It also includes a map showing the location of these rural counties.) Appendix B contains two reference maps--one of the five Appalachian subregions, and one of the five rural-urban county types. Both the subregions and county types are referenced throughout the report. [For the 2014-2018 Chartbook, see ED606327.]

One year after the COVID-19 pandemic forced state and school leaders across the nation and around the world to immediately close school buildings, the lasting impact on students is increasingly evident: Months of online learning and limited in-person interaction with educators, coaches and mentors have led to gaps in learning, and unknown emotional impacts on millions of K12 students and educators. Experiences of the past year have brought deeper understanding and greater clarity on how best to organize schooling and deliver instruction in a way that minimizes health risks and maximizes learning and engagement. Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and National Governors Association (NGA) analyzed emerging state efforts to accelerate student learning this summer and during the 2021-22 school year. They reviewed available state plans, websites, media reports and gubernatorial State of the State addresses for most states. Because each state is at different stages in their planning, in many cases, the documents reviewed were initial drafts, plan outlines (with specifics still being developed) or the first in a series of resources being developed. This memo provides an overview of notable strategies and trends that were identified through this analysis, and is organized around four major steps, which serve as the framing for this memo. Along with describing the activities states are taking as part of each step, this memo includes a range of state examples and links to related resources. As state approaches continue to evolve and plans are finalized, states are encouraged to share their detailed strategies with CCSSO, NGA and the field. The four major steps states are taking include: (1) Getting organized and understanding what needs to happen; (2) Using summer 2021 to accelerate learning; (3) Supporting more students to be successful learners; and (4) Tackling other challenges: Future considerations.

"Xtreme Reading" is a supplemental literacy curriculum designed to improve the literacy skills of struggling students in grades 6 to 12. The curriculum is primarily designed to help students improve their vocabulary, decoding, fluency, and reading comprehension skills. To ensure a productive learning environment, students initially learn social skills associated with creating a supportive learning community, including how to participate in certain class activities (for example, whole-group discussion, small-group work, partner work, transitions). They also participate in a motivational program whereby they discuss their hopes and dreams for the future and set personal goals related to reading and other life areas. The "Xtreme Reading" program includes teacher-led whole-group instruction, cooperative group work, paired practice, and independent practice. This What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) intervention report, part of the WWC's Adolescent Literacy topic area, explores the effects of "Xtreme Reading" on student literacy achievement and comprehension (including reading comprehension and vocabulary skills). The WWC identified four studies of "Xtreme Reading," two of which meet WWC standards. The evidence presented in this report is from studies of the effects of "Xtreme Reading" on ninth-grade students--including 81% non-White and 19% White students--from largely urban and diverse school districts. This intervention brief provides an overview of the full report. [For the full report, see ED611355. For the Intervention Snapshot, see ED611358.]

"Xtreme Reading" is a supplemental literacy curriculum designed to improve the literacy skills of struggling students in grades 6 to 12. The curriculum is primarily designed to help students improve their vocabulary, decoding, fluency, and reading comprehension skills. To ensure a productive learning environment, students initially learn social skills associated with creating a supportive learning community, including how to participate in certain class activities (for example, whole-group discussion, small-group work, partner work, transitions). They also participate in a motivational program whereby they discuss their hopes and dreams for the future and set personal goals related to reading and other life areas. The "Xtreme Reading" program includes teacher-led whole-group instruction, cooperative group work, paired practice, and independent practice. This What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) intervention report, part of the WWC's Adolescent Literacy topic area, explores the effects of "Xtreme Reading" on student literacy achievement and comprehension (including reading comprehension and vocabulary skills). The WWC identified four studies of "Xtreme Reading," two of which meet WWC standards. The evidence presented in this report is from studies of the effects of "Xtreme Reading" on ninth-grade students--including 81% non-White and 19% White students-- from largely urban and diverse school districts. [For the Intervention Brief, see ED611356. For the Intervention Snapshot, see ED611358.]

Developing and sustaining comprehensive school mental health systems should be a shared endeavor between schools and community partners; the task should not rest solely on the shoulders of the K-12 education sector. Community partners, including health and behavioral health providers, can augment the continuum of services available to students and families by offering services directly in schools, and by facilitating referral pathways when students need support outside of the school building. Colleges and universities are also critical community partners in building comprehensive school mental health systems. They can foster a robust workforce, offer professional development, provide mental health services, and engage in research and evaluation to study impact and inform quality improvement. This brief describes each of these opportunities for partnership with colleges and universities and highlights strategies and exemplars to help accelerate innovation and advancement in K-12 school mental health systems.

Adolescents experiencing social anxiety often engage in safety behaviors--covert avoidance strategies for managing distress (e.g., avoiding eye contact)--that factor into the development and maintenance of their concerns. Prior work supports the psychometric properties of the Subtle Avoidance Frequency Examination (SAFE), a self-report survey of safety behaviors. Yet, we need complementary methods for assessing these behaviors within contexts where adolescents often experience concerns, namely interactions with unfamiliar peers. Recent work indicates that, based on short, direct social interactions with adolescents, individuals posing as unfamiliar peers (i.e., "peer confederates") and without assessment training can capably report about adolescent social anxiety. We built on prior work by testing whether we could gather valid SAFE reports from "unfamiliar untrained observers" (UUOs), who observed adolescents within archived recordings of these short social interactions. A mixed clinical/community sample of 105 adolescents self-reported on their functioning and participated in a series of social interaction tasks with peer confederates, who also provided social anxiety reports about the adolescent. Based on video recordings of these tasks, "trained independent observers" rated adolescents' observed social skills, and an additional set of UUOs completed SAFE reports of these same adolescents. Unfamiliar untrained observers' SAFE reports (a) related to adolescents' SAFE self-reports, (b) distinguished adolescents on clinically elevated social anxiety concerns, (c) related to trained independent observers' ratings of adolescent social skills within interactions with peer confederates, and (d) related to adolescents' self-reported arousal within these same interactions. Our findings support use of unfamiliar observers' perspectives to understand socially anxious adolescents' interpersonal functioning. [This paper will be published in "Behavior Therapy."]

In 2018, BHEF and the Business Roundtable joined forces to create the Workforce Partnership Initiative (WPI). The initiative invited Business Roundtable CEOs to form multi-company partnerships and connect with leaders of postsecondary institutions to meet regional workforce needs. Dozens of CEOs responded, and the JPMorgan Chase Foundation awarded BHEF a grant to support nine WPI projects around the country. These case studies cover five of the nine partnerships: Chicago, D.C.-Maryland-Virginia, North Carolina, New York City, and the Southeast. The publication details the highly tailored educational and work-based learning opportunities created as part of the initiative, along with the unlikely partnerships and new curricula and apprenticeships.

"An Overview of Coal and the Economy in Appalachia," a report commissioned by the Appalachian Regional Commission, details major trends in coal employment and production in the Appalachian Region over the past two decades. The report examines where employment and production losses have been concentrated within the Region, and also what might be driving these declines. Furthermore, the report also explores the variation in socioeconomic indicators -- labor force, population, income, education, and health -- by mining and non-mining counties within Appalachia.

"The College Payoff: More Education Doesn't Always Mean More Earnings" explores how lifetime earnings vary by education level, field of study, occupation, industry, gender, race and ethnicity, and location. The lifetime earnings of a full-time full-year worker with a high school diploma are $1.6 million, while workers with an associate's degree earn $2 million. However, at least one quarter of high school graduates earn more than an associate's degree holder. Bachelor's degree holders earn a median of $2.8 million during their career, 75% more than if they had only a high school diploma. Master's degree holders earn a median of $3.2 million over their lifetimes, while doctoral degree holders earn $4 million and professional degree holders earn $4.7 million. However, one quarter of workers with a bachelor's degree earn more than half of workers with a master's or a doctoral degree.

The current brief provides an overview of the 2021-2022 school year student-to-school psychologist ratio for every United States territory, using the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) counts of school psychologists. In addition to this, data are presented on the percentage change in student-to-school psychologist ratio from the 2020-2021 school year to the 2021-2022 school year (i.e., most recently released data). When territory ratios for the 2021-2022 school year were examined by region, the Northeast region was found to have significantly smaller ratios (i.e., fewer students per school psychologist) than all other regions. No associations were found between the student-to-school psychologist ratio and territory population or number of graduate programs in school psychology in that territory. There was a significant association between the student-to-school psychology ratio and the average salary in that territory. This information is vital for tracking workforce shortages, as well as the effects of advocacy efforts, throughout the country.

The CPI Mid-Term Assessment provides insights from the first two years of the United Negro College Fund (UNCF)® Career Pathways Initiative (CPI). The authors derived insights from a comprehensive view of the experience of UNCF's Institute for Capacity Building (ICB) and the network of institutions implementing the program. To facilitate continuous improvement, this assessment shares early insights that guide how the authors address the following questions through completion of the grant: (1) How can ICB's delivery of programmatic supports be refined?; (2) How can scale promising practices be willed across the three-pronged network-based approach?; and (3) How can current efforts to support student success be amplified? UNCF, ICB, and the CPI's ultimate goal is to increase student and workforce outcomes for low-income, first generation Black students and other students of color. This mid-term assessment is an important milestone for the program. Insights from this assessment will shape how UNCF will enhance the execution of the CPI program through the remainder of the grant period. It will also identify promising practices to inform transformative change at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), predominantly Black institutions (PBIs), and other institutions of higher education. The assessment covers the first two years of program implementation or the period from January 2017-December 2019. It is organized to provide insights from three critical components: program overview, early outcomes, and institutional highlights. The assessment ends with a summary of progress to date and path forward.

States invest heavily in education, providing funding either directly or in the form of financial aid from preschool through college, with positive outcomes from those impacting nearly every other area of public policy, particularly the workforce. To understand and assess results, states collect and analyze information about these investments at various levels, and most have already created longitudinal data systems. These systems empower students to make better-informed decisions and provide policymakers with a deeper understanding of the factors that shape student outcomes in order to create public policy to address state priorities. "What's Aid Got to Do With It? The Importance of Incorporating Financial Aid Data in California's Cradle-to-Career Data System," the latest report from The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS), examines how states -- Texas, Virginia, and Maryland -- have utilized financial aid data in their longitudinal and higher education data systems and provides recommendations for how California can follow suit to build a longitudinal data system that will help address equity gaps within the state. [Debbie Cochrane, Laura Szabo-Kubitz, and Jingwen Zhang made substantial contributions to this report.]

This report presents state- and county-level data for the Appalachian Region. The 12 chapters focus on: (1) Population Basics; (2) Age; (3) Race and Hispanic Origin; (4) Housing Occupancy, Tenure, and Type; (5) Education, Device Ownership, and Internet Access; (6) Labor Force, Employment, and Unemployment; (7) Transportation and Commuting Patterns; (8) Income and Poverty (9) Health and Insurance Coverage; (10) Disability Status; (11) Migration; and (12) Veteran Status. Most of the data contained in this chartbook come from the 2014-2018 American Community Survey. This year's Chartbook includes two appendices. Appendix A uses selected demographic and socioeconomic measures to provide an overview comparing rural Appalachia (defined here as nonmetropolitan counties not adjacent to any metropolitan area) to rural areas outside the Appalachian Region. (It also includes a map showing the location of these rural counties.) Appendix B contains two reference maps--one of the five Appalachian subregions, and one of the five rural-urban county types. Both the subregions and county types are referenced throughout the report. [For the 2012-2016 Chartbook, see ED585953.]

Government officials are taking swift public health actions to slow the rapidly spreading COVID-19 pandemic. By the end of March, statewide school closures affected 55.1 million K-12 public school students across the country. While school closures affect all students, students from underserved communities feel this impact even greater. Data on digital disparities reveal that nearly 20 percent of African American children ages 3-18 and 21 percent of families earning less than $40,000 per year have no access to the internet at home. This Issue Brief reviews publicly available digital learning plans for the seventeen states covered by the Southern Education Foundation to see how schools and districts are meeting the needs of their most vulnerable students and families. They have taken different approaches for distance learning based on the needs of their student populations, grade level, and current technology or infrastructure. To help schools and districts determine what is best for their students and communities, the brief provides these equity considerations along with examples of how some districts are addressing these issues now.

On a given day, more than 43,000 youths who largely identify as students of color and are disproportionately male are held in residential placement facilities as a result of involvement with the juvenile justice system. More than two-thirds of youths living in placement facilities who participated in a national survey shared aspirations to continue their education, with nearly half wanting to pursue postsecondary education. Despite these aspirations, youth involved in the juvenile justice system encounter educational barriers before they enter the system: Nearly one third are diagnosed with a learning disability, nearly half demonstrate academic proficiency below their grade level and close to a quarter are not enrolled in school. A disruption in their academic trajectory because of involvement with the juvenile justice system may prevent a student from continuing their education upon reentry. Sixty-six percent of youths do not return to school after leaving placement. High-quality arts education participation has lasting, positive impacts for youth by supporting development from early childhood into adulthood. The arts provide opportunities to build self-efficacy and achieve personal goals by helping youth develop ownership of their learning, determine individual criteria for success and track personal progress. Research shows that these effects most strongly benefit youth who have limited access to opportunities for academic, personal and social success and are thus at higher risk for low academic achievement, dropping out of high school or entering the juvenile justice system. Arts participation can also reduce the likelihood that they will engage in delinquent, risky or violent behavior. Additionally, the arts support civic outcomes, including political engagement and volunteering, among youth. This Special Report explores research and programs that employ the arts along the juvenile justice continuum: in prevention, intervention, transition and healing.

This is the first of two reports exploring the relationship between coal activity and funding for elementary and secondary education in the Appalachian Region. In this first report, patterns in funding for elementary and secondary education are explored using annual data from 1995 to 2016. Counties that had some level of coal employment over this time period (coal counties) are compared to counties that had no coal employment over the same time (non-coal counties). This descriptive analysis finds that educational attainment rates in the Appalachian Region lag behind national rates, often by a significant margin. There is considerable heterogeneity in educational attainment across and within Appalachia, with coal communities within states sometimes outperforming non-coal communities and vice versa. However the reports finds that coal counties generally have similar levels of spending and local revenues per student as the nation as a whole. Although, there is significant variation across counties and states. The second report aims to isolate the impacts of coal activity, including employment and production, on local revenues for elementary and secondary education. [The report was prepared by the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.]

Fears of negative and positive evaluation (i.e., evaluative fears) manifest within performance-based situations (e.g., public speaking, group presentations), particularly among those experiencing social anxiety. Within these performance-based situations, individuals experiencing such evaluative fears frequently display a variety of impairments (e.g., avoidance, nervousness) that might manifest within and across various settings (e.g., employment, school). How do those who experience these fears react to "in-the-moment" feedback about their performance? We constructed the Fear of Evaluation about Performance (FEAP) task to examine ecologically valid experiences with anxiety when reacting to positive and negative feedback. During the task, participants gave a speech, and subsequent to this and in counterbalanced order, received positive and negative feedback about their speech, with continued assessment of anxiety-related arousal throughout the task. We tested the FEAP task among 127 adults, who provided self-reports of fears of positive and negative evaluation before completing the task. Fears of positive evaluation uniquely predicted arousal following receipt of positive feedback, whereas fears of negative evaluation uniquely predicted arousal following receipt of negative feedback. Relative to participants receiving positive feedback first, those receiving negative feedback first experienced elevated post-feedback arousal, followed by a steep decline in arousal post-positive feedback. Conversely, participants receiving positive feedback first experienced a buffer effect whereby arousal post-negative feedback remained low, relative to the arousal experienced post-negative feedback among those who received negative feedback first. We expect the FEAP task to inform basic science on fears of negative and positive evaluation, as well as treatment planning in applied clinical settings. [This paper will be published in "Behavior Therapy."]

Congress amended and extended the "Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education" ("Perkins IV") in 2018 with passage of the "Strengthening Career and Technical Education Act for the 21st Century" ("Perkins V"); the law became effective on July 1, 2019. "Perkins V" increases federal funding for career and technical education (CTE), including the amount available for states to spend on educating students who are incarcerated. To provide a framework and to support states as they develop their "Perkins V" plans, this report looks back at how states used "Perkins IV" funds to serve individuals in states institutions during three fiscal years (FYs) 2012-14. This report addresses four research questions: (1) What was the total amount of "Perkins IV" funds that each state made available in each of the three fiscal years (FYs 2012-14) for state institutions, including states correctional institutions?; (2) What percentage of their total grant allocation from "Perkins IV" did each state make available in each of the three fiscal years (FYs 2012-14) for all types of state institutions?; (3) How many incarcerated students in state correctional institutions received programs and services with the "Perkins IV" funds for state institutions?; and (4) What types of programs and services did states offer incarcerated students in their state correctional institutions with "Perkins IV" funds? The number of individuals served in state institutions could increase with the "Perkins V" 1 percent increase in funds made available to serve individuals in state institutions, such as state correctional institutions, juvenile justice facilities, and educational institutions that serve individuals with disabilities. The data and the information in the state narratives about the services and activities for incarcerated students may assist state and local decisions makers in developing correctional education programs with the amount made available under "Perkins V."

Researchers suggest that the economy of the future will consist of jobs that do not currently exist, there will likely be a shortage of individuals with necessary education and credentials to fill those jobs, and if the nation does not produce this workforce, there will likely be a $1.72 trillion loss in productivity by 2030. Considering these projections, policymakers continue to seek ways to create opportunities for individuals to access training and education that translate to jobs and careers, all while meeting the labor demands of an evolving economy. States have introduced and enacted legislation that forms connections between education and workforce development. While these connections can take place at a local or institutional level, many states have enacted policy that expands beyond local activity to make statewide workforce development and education connections. This Policy Snapshot reviews 2019 enacted legislation pertaining to postsecondary education and workforce development. It breaks legislative activity into four main categories -- (1) career pathways and skills; (2) partnerships and working groups; (3) financial incentives; and (4) workforce data -- with state examples for each.

In this research brief, we describe and decompose school segregation by race and ethnicity in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, in which we include: the District of Columbia; Alexandria, Arlington, and Fairfax County in Virginia; and Montgomery County and Prince George's County in Maryland. We find only modest segregation within all but one of these six metro area districts, with the sole exception being D.C. proper. Segregation across the entire metro area, however, is moderate to high. The reason for this counterintuitive discrepancy is extensive segregation between the districts. In fact, we find that roughly half of total multiracial segregation (i.e., segregation of white, black, Hispanic and Asian students), and almost two-thirds of the segregation of black and white students, is due to the sorting of students into districts, rather than schools within districts. This means that even if all six D.C. metro area districts were to integrate their schools internally, at least half of total metro areawide segregation would remain intact. Finally, we find that segregation between suburbs is a larger contributor to total metro area segregation than segregation between the city (D.C. proper) and the suburbs. Our results illustrate the importance of between-district segregation as a factor in the overall segregation of students in the D.C. metro area. Absent the movement of students across district boundaries, there is often an "invisible ceiling" on the potential metro areawide impact of even the most successful intra-district desegregation efforts.

This report shares the perspectives and aspirations of 17 low-income and working-class students based on interviews the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) conducted over two semesters of their college journeys. The report identifies opportunities for policymakers and institutional leaders to support all students through completion, grounded in students' experiences and the affordability challenges that they face. The students featured in the report represent the diversity of today's college-goers. Among them are Pell Grant recipients, Black, Hispanic, and multiracial students, adult students, student parents, and a veteran student. They represent different pathways to higher education and a range of educational and professional goals and ambitions. They have all made?enormous sacrifices?on their path to reach these goals, including working multiple jobs, working anywhere from four to over 40 hours a week, and accumulating both student loan and credit card debt. While the featured students are located across the country, attend different types of institutions, and represent a range of life circumstances, the?report?reveals?that many experienced similar challenges in navigating an uncertain and confusing financial aid process; paying for both the tuition and non-tuition costs associated with college; balancing the demands of school, family, and employment; making important decisions about college and program choice; and successfully transferring between institutions. The report offers concrete, actionable steps that institutions and policymakers can take to more equitably support students, including: (1) strengthening need-based aid; (2) targeting financial aid funding toward the students with the greatest need; and (3) providing greater transparency to low-income and working-class students navigating a complex higher education system.