Takeaway: Widely published school performance ratings are heavily correlated with the makeup of their student bodies, but this relationship is driven by selection bias rather than true school effectiveness. Key Points Ratings Conflate Background with Quality: Conventional school ratings reward schools that enroll higher-income and White students, mistaking advantaged family backgrounds for effective teaching. True Quality Is Race-Neutral: Leveraging admissions lotteries in Ne

Economist Lawrence Katz synthesizes decades of research to show that neighborhood environments directly shape intergenerational mobility and economic connectedness. Takeaway: Growing up in a high-opportunity neighborhood causally boosts a child's long-term earnings and college prospects, but specific market failures prevent low-income families from accessing these areas without targeted assistance. Key Points Place Matters Causally: About 60 percent of the variation in upward

This paper synthesizes four decades of rigorous experimental research on PreK–12 tutoring to evaluate its overall effectiveness and pinpoint which program features—such as tutor background, timing, and subject matter—yield the greatest boost to student achievement. Takeaway: A comprehensive review of nearly 100 randomized experiments shows that PreK–12 tutoring delivers substantial, consistent learning gains—especially when led by trained staff during the regular school day.

Students in private schools score higher on standardized tests than those in public school. But what is causing these differences? Is it better quality instruction or other factors? Takeaway: Researchers examined whether test score advantages in private secondary schools stem from institutional quality or peer composition, finding that low-income students gain genuine academic benefits from private schooling while wealthy students mostly benefit from surrounded by affluent pe

A recent study investigates how test-optional admissions policies influence applicant reporting choices and acceptance rates across different socioeconomic groups at an elite university. Takeaway: Optional standardized testing policies in selective college admissions can unintentionally lower acceptance rates for high-achieving, low-income applicants who withhold strong scores due to a misunderstanding of how admissions offices evaluate scores in context. Key Points Misaligne

Using generative AI for schoolwork can boost homework grades and save time, but significantly impairs students' actual learning and long-term exam performance. Is there an optimal amount of AI exposure? Takeaway: This study investigates how students' real-world, self-directed use of generative AI affects both their day-to-day homework performance and their performance on short- and long-term exams. Key Points Productivity vs. Learning: Generative AI boosts students' homework

Takeaway: Paying generous bonuses to top-rated educators in low-performing public schools dramatically raises student achievement and, those gains disappear if the financial incentives are removed. Key Points Dramatic Learning Gains: Offering annual stipends of $6,000 to $10,000 to highly effective teachers nearly eliminated the math and reading achievement gap between Dallas’s lowest-performing elementary schools and the district average. Persistent Benefits: Students expose

This study uses randomized admissions lotteries to examine how different types of charter schools affect students' long-term educational paths, revealing that state test scores do not always predict whether a school helps its students earn a college degree.

A sharp increase in federal pandemic relief funds for relatively affluent school districts did not improve student test scores, primarily because districts used the windfall to lower local property taxes rather than increase overall school spending.