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A Promise of Equity: Designing a Debt-Free Higher Education Program That Works for Everyone
As Massachusetts considers several proposals to make college tuition-and-fee-free or debt-free, this paper looks at how different design elements of such a guarantee could affect access and affordability for students from less wealthy families, students of color, and immigrant students in Massachusetts.
Direct Certification for School Meals: Feeding Students, Counting Kids, Funding Schools
This brief describes a number of solutions that would improve the effectiveness of the direct certification system and its ability to accurately identify low-income students.
Building a Strong Economy: The Roles of Education, Transportation, and Tax Policy
Effective economic policies can create a more highly productive state economy and make it possible to improve economic opportunity and security for working families. This paper examines the economic research on the relationship between effective investments in education and transportation and improved economic productivity. The paper also examines the economic effects of tax reforms that can fund those investments.
The Right Size for Learning: Class Sizes in Massachusetts
Children have a better chance to succeed in school when they receive individualized support and attention. Smaller class sizes are one way to help our teachers meet the needs of each child. This paper examines the evidence on how class size reductions can improve outcomes and expand opportunity for all of our children, particularly those who face the greatest obstacles.
Beyond the Bell: Options for Increased Learning Time
Increased learning time can be an effective tool for providing more of our young people with improved, more well-rounded education – but only if it’s done right. This paper examines which strategies have proven most effective in implementing longer school days, quality after school services, and summer learning opportunities. The report also estimates what it costs to provide a few model programs.
Uplifting the Whole Child: Using Wraparound Services to Overcome Social Barriers to Learning
To help children overcome non-academic barriers to success, a number of districts across the country have implemented wraparound services in their schools. Recent research shows that these programs can improve both the academic and life success of the students who are served. This report examines evidence on the effectiveness of these programs, describes progress being made in Massachusetts, and estimates costs for implementing evidence-based practices more widely.
Building a Foundation for Success
Early education and care has wide ranging benefits for children, parents and the economy. This report examines options for investing in early education that range from covering all lower income children through our existing early education and care system to educating all three and four year olds in our public schools.
Higher Learning, Lower Funding: The Decline in Support for Higher Education in Massachusetts
Higher education is vital to economic prosperity, and it serves as the critical final step for students advancing through our state education system. Massachusetts is one of the states that has cut funding most severely, allowing out-of-pocket student costs to rise.
A Well-Educated Workforce is Key to State Prosperity
Overwhelmingly, high-wage states are states with a well-educated workforce. Providing expanded access to high quality education will not only expand economic opportunity for residents, but also likely do more to strengthen the overall state economy than anything else a state government can do.
