By Mohammad Al Ahmad (translated by Will Todman). I witnessed the collapse of higher education in Syria firsthand. I lived and worked in eastern Syria as vice dean of the College of Arts and Humanities in the Raqqa campus of Al-Furat University. More...

By Jimmy R. Ellis and Seth Gershenson. College dropout rates are quite high, and at least partially offset the recent trend of increases in college enrollments in the U.S. First-generation students, those attending college for the first time in their families, experience particularly high dropout rates. More...

By Beth Stone. On June 8, the Brown Center on Education Policy at Brookings hosted a public event to discuss the intersection of race and education in 2016. With “Bringing education disparities to the forefront of the political debate,” a panel of community leaders and education experts gathered to discuss the importance of seizing the opportunity afforded by the ongoing national dialogue around racial and economic inequities. More...

By Tom Loveless. NAEP does not report the percentage of students performing at grade level.  NAEP reports the percentage of students reaching a “proficient” level of performance.  Here’s the problem. That’s not grade level. More...

By Martha Ross. Too many young people are falling off an economic cliff after graduating from high school. A new analysis of disconnected youth finds that approximately 2.2 million low-income 20-24 year olds are not in school and not working, increasing their risk of future poverty and unemployment. More...

By Grover J. "Russ" Whitehurst. I have previously written in this space an analysis of the promise and perils of the embrace of soft skills by education reformers. More...

By Richard V. Reeves and Edward Rodrigue. As every good teacher knows, education is not just about academics. It is about broadening horizons and discovering passions. More...

By Saro Mohammed. Personalized learning practices are increasingly being used in a variety of K-12 settings. These include public, private, and charter schools; at elementary, middle, and high school levels; in many content areas—including core subjects like reading, English language arts, math, and writing; and with students from various backgrounds. More...

By Liz Sablich. On Wednesday, June 8, the Brown Center is hosting a public event about racial inequities in education. An esteemed group of community leaders and education experts will gather to discuss how race and income level factor into education opportunities in present-day America, and why, in an age when the national dialogue routinely does focus on issues of racial inequality, isn’t education a bigger part of that conversation. More...