One of the most powerful findings of the Economic Mobility Project's research to date has been the striking mobility gap between blacks and whites in America. This report explores one potentially important factor behind the black-white mobility gap: the impact of neighborhood poverty rates experienced during childhood. Using the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), the report focuses on blacks and whites born from 1955-1970, following them from childhood into adulthood. The first section of the paper investigates relative intergenerational mobility; whether neighborhood poverty in childhood impacts the ability of both black and white adults to move up or down the income ladder relative to the position their parents held. The second section investigates whether changes in neighborhood poverty rates experienced by black children affected their adult incomes, earnings, and wealth. Finally, the third section provides an overview of the possible policy implications of the results.

Author: Patrick Sharkey

The Advanced Placement Expansion project of the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) was one component of a large-scale initiative launched in 2005 to redesign the American high school.  Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maine, Nevada, and Wisconsinreceived funding to expand Advanced Placement (AP) courses to minority and low-income students at 51 pilot high schools in rural and urban school districts. The NGA Center, working in partnership with the College Board, has demonstrated that it is possible for states to raise rigor and get results at scale.

This paper focuses on the 10 actions that states should take to ensure that all stakeholders use state longitudinal data effectively for continuous improvement.

This report, a follow-up to CEP's 2008 report on school restructuring in Ohio, examines the implementation and effects of differentiated accountability and related policies in Ohio. We looked at a range of questions. How is the differentiated accountability pilot affecting districts with large numbers of schools in restructuring? How successfully is the new system differentiating support and interventions for schools and districts in which only a few subgroups of students missed AYP targets from those in which students across the board missed the targets? What local approaches are districts taking to improve restructuring schools? To collect data for this report, we conducted interviews in the fall and winter of 2008-09 with two officials in the Ohio Department of Education (ODE). We also interviewed more than 20 local administrators, teachers, and other district and school staff in four school districts--Cincinnati Public Schools, Cleveland Metropolitan School District, Mansfield City Schools, and Mount Vernon City Schools--and in eight schools within these districts. In addition, we reviewed restructuring-related documents and analyzed test data at the state and local levels.

To inform policy and practice, the Office of Vocational and Adult Education of the U.S. Department of Education sponsored a study that examined six purposively selected dropout recovery programs. The purpose of the study was to explore how programs seek to engage and teach participants, to identify implementation challenges programs face, to understand how they seek to overcome these challenges, and to explore implications for policymakers, program practitioners, and researchers. The six programs selected for the study include three that prepare participants for a GED, two that prepare them for a high school diploma, and one that provides both GED and high school diploma options. All of these programs also offer participants some preparation for postsecondary education, training, or assistance finding jobs. Drawing on site visit interviews as well as outcome data, this report presents findings on five topics: (1) program goals and partners, (2) admissions and attendance policies, (3) instructional approaches and academic outcomes, (4) methods used to address participantsâ?? personal issues, and (5) strategies to prepare participants for postsecondary education and jobs. The report concludes with some observations about issues facing policymakers and practitioners, and with questions for future studies.
Authors: R. Buschmann, J. Haimson, Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. Prepared for the U.S. Dept. of Education Office of Vocational & Adult Education