Publications About All Issues

At every level, from the federal government to the campus, spending has shifted away from the students who most need support toward those who will attend college no matter what.  This report attempts to “lift the fog” on inequitable financial-aid policies to show how all decision makers can work to make college more affordable for the lowest income students. 

In an effort to be fair to everyone, teacher evaluation practices are often fair to no one -- teachers or the students they serve. A new report from The Education Trust makes recommendations on how to improve the practice of teacher evaluation in a way that elevates standards across the profession. Everyone benefits from teacher evaluation systems that gauge performance fairly and comprehensively with a focus on professional growth that promotes student learning.

In “Priced Out: How the Wrong Financial-Aid Policies Hurt Low-Income Students,” The Education Trust demonstrates how much low-income students must stretch to pay for college, even after all sources of grant aid are taken into account.

The report finds that just five of nearly 1,200 four-year colleges and universities have student bodies that are at least 30 percent low-income and offer low-income students a reasonable chance at a bachelor’s degree at a relatively affordable cost.

Currently, performance evaluation systems used to assess teachers in virtually every school system in the United States fail to differentiate between individual teachers who boost student learning and those who need to improve. As a result, the students who need the most from their teachers are far less likely to get those who can help them achieve at high levels.

In this report, the Center for American Progress and The Education Trust recommend ways to strengthen the teacher provisions of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act, or ESEA.