By Beth Akers. Over the last 20 years, published tuition and fees have more than doubled at four-year public institutions, and have increased by more than 50 percent at private four-year and public two-year colleges. This rate of increase has not been seen in any other sector of the economy. Some of this is mitigated by the fact that schools have increased grant aid at the same time, but there is no question that the cost of college is trending steadily upward (even after accounting for inflation). More...

By Daniel Araya. Although the current unemployment rate now stands at just 5.0 percent, many economists concede that the real figure is much higher. In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the U-6 rate (total unemployed, plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force, plus total employed part time for economic reasons) measures underemployment at 10 percent. More...

By Li Feng. The Wall Street Journal recently featured the rapid growth of student loan debt—outstanding debt has more than tripled in the 10 years ending in 2012. Total student loan balances now exceed those of auto loans and credit cards, the largest categories of consumer debt in prior years. Currently, the total amount of outstanding student loan debt is over $1.3 trillion and still growing every second as interest continues to accrue. More...

By Stuart M. Butler. One is the changing structure of families, which can derail progress for some. Another is the challenge for many workers of making enough to support their families and move up the economic ladder. And yet another is that our education system is not delivering what is needed for millions of Americans to succeed. More...

By Beth Akers. Jeb Bush just released an education reform plan that represents a wholly new approach to the federal government’s involvement in higher education. So—is it any good. More...

By Helen F. Ladd. Now that Congress has finally passed the Every Student Succeeds Act, states are no longer required to evaluate teachers based on their students’ test scores. This is a welcome change. Even when such evaluations have been embedded in comprehensive incentive systems for teachers, they have at best led to minor improvements in student outcomes and, at worst, to many types of distorting behavior. The states can and should now turn their attention to the fundamentals of assuring a high quality teaching force. More...

By Michael Hansen. The newly enacted Every Student Succeeds Act offers reprieve to states that felt encumbered by No Child Left Behind's onerous school accountability measures. Not only will the ambitious 100 percent proficiency standard no longer loom over the shoulders of state superintendents, but under the new law, states are also to adopt new school accountability measures that include an indicator of performance not directly tied to testing or graduation. More...