Secondary Education

This report surveys the current landscape of correctional education, discussing both the educational needs of people involved in the criminal justice system and the programs being provided to meet those needs. It reviews research on the effectiveness of correctional education; outlines the guiding principles for effective programming; discusses the issues involved in providing education in correctional settings; and identifies some potential responses to these challenges. The report closes by looking to the future and highlighting key issues and new directions in research, policy, and practice. More information about the Reentry Roundtables can be found at http://www.urban.org/projects/reentry-roundtable/index.cfm.

To pay for college, many low- and moderate-income students and their families rely on financial aid and savings. But how students and families save—and in whose name—affects both the tax consequences and the impact of savings on financial aid. Not saving in a tax-preferred account can raise the out-of-pocket costs of college by thousands of dollars. Alternately, saving for college can result in tax penalties if families do not use tax-preferred savings for education.

Many young people in the District of Columbia lack a high school or college diploma and are ill-prepared for a labor market that demands highly skilled workers. In response to this crisis, the District government launched a reform effort in 2007 that promises to reinvent public schools and halt the years of poor performance that have plagued the city's education system. But school reform alone cannot address all of the complicated social, emotional, and economic conditions holding back the city's youth. Families, nonprofit organizations, and District agencies must all be committed partners in helping young people succeed.

Many young people in the District of Columbia are failing to make a successful transition to adulthood. Their challenges include poor preparation for the high-skills labor market and long-standing health problems. Recent District government efforts have centered around school reform and early childhood, but these areas are not sufficient to improve the well-being of older youth. This report provides comprehensive data indicators and analysis on the state of older youth (age 12-24) in the District and examines the role of area nonprofits that work with young people, their families, and neighborhoods.

From health and housing to school achievement and employment, a new report from the Urban Institute provides the most comprehensive source of data on the state of teenagers and young adults in the District of Columbia.

Panelists analyzed the complexities of enacting effective school-readiness policies and programs. Their observations addressed what’s behind the latest interest in such initiatives, the social and political environments needed for successful early learning centers and home visitation efforts, the lessons states can draw from Illinois’ recent experience; and the importance of integrating home-based and learning-center programs, and providing consistent training and supervision for providers.

One expected benefit of moving poor families from the concentrated poverty of some inner city neighborhoods to better, less poor neighborhoods, was that the children would attend better schools, with more resources and more advantaged peers who might be models for hard work and higher achievement. This brief looks at the schools MTO children attended after their move, how they did or did not differ from the schools in their pre-move neighborhoods, and what factors mattered to families choosing schools for their children.

In this Washington Times op-ed, senior education researcher Jane Hannaway explains that few school districts and states link student test performance to individual teachers. Getting good information on teacher quality might be the most important thing for a better school system.