Education

Although the economic and political well-being of any democracy requires a well-educated citizenry, the performance of the American education system has fallen behind other advanced industrial nations. At the federal, state and local levels, education policy has economic and political dimensions.

Over the years, Brookings has produced a substantial body of research in the field of education. The Brown Center on Education Policy has examined the problems of the American education system, studying the impact of curricula; academic standards and accountability; testing procedures; school and class size; parental choice and vouchers; and achievement gaps among racial and ethnic groups.

Extending beyond the K-12 bookends, experts at the Center on Children and Families and The Hamilton Project have studied cost-effective investments in early education; inequality; new approaches to education for struggling students; and the role of education in economic opportunity and mobility.

The Greater Washington Research project has examined how increased education and skill development options—such as improvement of the K-12 system, community college programs, adult education and job training programs—can expand economic opportunities for residents of Washington, DC and strengthen the city’s middle class.

Globally, the Wolfensohn Center for Development has a burgeoning research agenda on early childhood development in poor countries. Experts in the Center have also have examined education reform in Iran, specifically the country’s plan to eliminate the national university entrance examinations by 2011. The Saban Center for Middle East Policy has examined the GI Bill and the role of having better educated military personnel.