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The past two decades have been characterized by a growing body of research from diverse disciplines-child development, psychology, neuroscience, and economics, among others-demonstrating the importance of establishing a strong foundation in the early years of life. The research evidence has served to document the range of early childhood services that can successfully put children and families on the path toward lifelong health and well-being, especially those at greatest risk of poor outcomes. As early childhood interventions have proliferated, researchers have evaluated whether the programs improve children's outcomes and, when they do, whether the improved outcomes generate benefits that can outweigh the program costs. This study examines a set of evaluations that meet criteria for scientific rigor and synthesizes their results to better understand the outcomes, costs, and benefits of early childhood programs. The authors focus on evaluations of 115 early childhood programs serving children or parents of children from the prenatal period to age 5. Although preschool is perhaps the best-known early childhood intervention, the study also reviewed such programs as home visiting, parent education, government transfers providing cash and in-kind benefits, and those that use a combination of approaches. The findings demonstrate that most of the reviewed programs have favorable effects on at least one child outcome and those with an economic evaluation tend to show positive economic returns. With this expanded evidence base, policymakers can be highly confident that well-designed and -implemented early childhood programs can improve the lives of children and their families.

This American Educator Panels Data Note examines teachers' use of high-quality curricula materials for mathematics and English-language arts. In this data note, we specifically consider the proportion of U.S. teachers reporting they used high-quality materials for mathematics and ELA instruction during the 2017–2018 school year.

An updated comprehensive review of rigorous evaluations of early childhood programs confirms and strengthens RAND researchers' findings from previous syntheses showing that many early childhood programs can improve a range of outcomes for children.

This implementation guide provides a framework for programme planners who seek more information on how to effectively implement evidence-based practices in a real-world context. It familiarizes readers with the basics of implementation planning and programme execution, introduces relevant research findings, and provides real-world examples.

This evidence guide provides a starting point for policymakers who seek more information on how to use evidence to strengthen policies for investing in children.

This report provides a detailed listing and analysis of surveys identified in the course of an assessment of ongoing survey research on post-9/11 U.S. military veterans. This information should be useful to researchers and policymakers interested in the breadth, quality, and representativeness of research on post-9/11 veterans that shows the trajectory of these individuals' reintegration into civilian life.

Describes the Getting To Outcomes® for Home Visiting manual, a ten-step guide for planning, implementing, and evaluating home visiting programs aimed at improving outcomes for families with young children.